I honestly feel like the creator really cheapened the story with the developments between Sienna and Asiel, her feelings were so random, there was no proper buildup other than the classic “feelings go thump”. Now this forced proximity angle is just so artificial and trite.
There were so many ways that the author could have arrived at them developing feelings and a relationship without compromising the quality of the story.
It should have been a genuine slow burn with both of them struggling to manage their feelings while healing from their trauma.
Sienna basically caught feelings out of nowhere, with some hesitation and literally no other exploration of the effect that had on her psyche or any complex reaction.
Asiel’s emotional arc was basically feeling guilty, guilty about having feelings, and then the forced proximity trope. We didn’t even get to see his initial reaction or the family’s groveling because the time skip happened immediately after they all remembered.
It feels like I was being served a ten course gourmet meal, and halfway through someone started bringing out fast food. If I wanted cheap and generic I would be elsewhere, I came for this story because of how beautiful and in depth it was, now it’s just one of a thousand other shallow romances with the same stale tropes
As always the novel is much better for the groveling the depth of trauma but you're right on something,the time skip just after their memories returned was too much ...
It’s so insane that the mom is like “oh no the 4 year year old is rly sad that he has no siblings, how could he ever recover from this deep and traumatic emotional wound” like her actual motive isn’t wanting another grandkid.
Imagine applying that logic to literally anything else a toddler wants. That’s how you raise a spoiled little monster. It’s even worse that everyone knows about his inherent struggles with his trait, to the extent that he got reassignment surgery, the psychological difficulties of the pregnancy. Even right now he’s not comfortable being open about his sexuality and traits in public. All that on top of the sheer debilitation the first pregnancy wrought on his body, but sure, the toddler is sad so we obviously need to consider that just as much
Lmfao why would you not just mention that shit to your partner?!
Wow the parents really were the true villains all along… even if you have a favorite, there’s no need to be that cruel and blatant about it. There was just no way Ethan would be able to grow up well in that environment. Hugo was raised to be selfish, elitist, and entitled. Just terrible all around
Sorry, I disliked by mistake Σ( ￣□￣||)
Dropped it at chapter 3. MC got completely blackout shitfaced with ML (definitely not that drunk) who then took him home and slept with him (consent wtf?!)
It’s crazy for the queen to be so greedy that she mistreats such a long time ally like that. Pamela Ian has been loyal for a decade and she couldn’t find a lower noble or rich guy that was at least partially to her taste. No loyalty
I feel like skipping the groveling arc was a major miss on the writing. They finally learned about the truth of how they mistreated her in the past life and why she was so wary, but then it just randomly time skips to years later after things have basically stabilized, albeit with a lot of stagnant guilt. Sure, they feel bad and basically decided to silently support her in repentance, but the initial reactions and emotional payout were so important and they just got skipped by the storyline.
It just fell flat to me, so much buildup and that secret being the driving force behind all of Sienna’s actions and relationships, and we just got a random holding pattern with not a lot of emotional payout. And now she’s randomly catching feels despite the fact that there hasn’t really been a buildup that makes sense
Girl I get it, but that man is way too perverted to cheat on you with a rando
╮(￣▽￣)╭
I think this was really well written. It’s a slow burn with a lot of factors standing between the characters, but their emotional development feels natural. It’s definitely a step above most current romance writing. A true enemy to lovers that actually confronts the moral conflict of the situation with delicacy so that the ultimate conclusion feels reasonable. They dodged all of the usual shallow tropes and plot for ERS which makes the conclusion all the more satisfying. I hope there are side stories, but feel satisfied with the current ending
Top is so true to character here, he’s no longer interested in Gyuha, but he’s fine with going with the flow and basically using him for his own convenience until he loses interest despite the marriage and children. If I don’t want anymore “I can just walk away” excuse me that’s unacceptable even for a one night stand if a baby is involved (╯°Д °)╯╧╧
It’s always been about him and his wants. He’s never sacrificed anything for Gyuha
Yes! Very well written regression, he really did become different at the end of the main story, it’s sad to see how miserable his internal monologue is and he doesn’t even realize it
He's such a selfish jerk back then before Gyuha ran away when he got pregnant. He realized he's fallen for Gyuha back then. Now all that shit is forgotten. I hate the author ugh