Exactly babe. Both Leon and Grace's father can be terrible. The difference is that Leon was the immediate threat actively hurting and controlling Grace. Escaping an abuser should come first, even if the alternative isn't perfect. My problem is that the story seemed to make every other option worse just to push Grace back to Leon, instead of giving her a real chance at freedom and healing on her own.
Exactly what I'm saying like that author wants her to completely relying on her abuser and try to romanticize their relationship. Like if she cares for the FL and she wants to make her smart she would let Grace use her father at least for her safety.
Of course the author will try her best to make Grace's father bad ,in order to let her stay with her rapist .Even so leaving with her father might have been the lesser evil, if that meant immediate escape from Leon’s active abuse.why? Leon was a constant, inescapable danger. He controlled, assaulted, and psychologically broke her down. Her father, while a terrible person for what he did to her mother, wasn’t actively harming Grace at that time , he represented past danger, not immediate torture.So from a purely survival and safety perspective (not emotional or moral), it would make sense to take any route out , even one that’s imperfect or unsafe long-term , to stop the ongoing abuse first.
It’s a tragic “pick your poison” situation, but escaping an active abuser always comes first. Healing or confronting family trauma could only happen after she’s safe.