Was interested in the concept, but the dynamics somehow spun out into everything I personally dislike. I had to tap out around chapter 79 (?).
Was expecting manipulative/dark FL and devoted/obsessive ML, and you get the ML in a sense, but the way it's done is personally unappealing.
FL:
She's set up as being manipulative and set on revenge, and she has some fun moments of that, but she simultaneously has too much of a conscience to really lean into the revenge/exploit the ML and too little of a conscience for me to feel bad for her. The ML basically does the entirety of the revenge - they throw in a few moments of her being smart at the beginning and then expect that to carry through the whole thing, and there are a bunch of stupid/bizarre things that happen out of nowhere plot-wise.
How did her father's body get stolen??? Why did they not take literally any route but having the ML swear loyalty to the villain, and why was that dynamic not expanded on at all, if they were gonna do it? It lasted like two seconds - where's the resentment and silent seething hatred as the villain exploits this new power over the ML/FL? Where's the flavor??? When the relationship first seems like it's going to blow up after the ML is like "surprise, I did everything already without your knowledge," it seems like it could get interesting, but then he gives her the villain's dead body and she just forgets everything - not to mention how the "revenge-obsessed" FL has to have the ML tell her the villain probably killed her dad to actually even do anything to the corpse, like she was seriously just gonna let that go?
And then obviously, after everything properly blows up, she treats her child like shit, which is a big nope from me and made me lose any sympathy I had for her.
ML:
Now, ML is certainly obsessive, but in a direction I hate. He's all "I will do anything for you, I'm literally useless without you," but then goes behind the FL's back constantly and lies to her about literally everything. I mean, is it more realistic? Sure, but I'm here for unhealthy but hot obsessiveness, not incredibly frustrating obsessiveness. To be fair though, that is more of a personal preference point. The ML is overall just frustrating, and then
when we get to the kids it went fully downhill. I tapped out after he started talking about using his own child as a hostage. I really wanted at least one of them to care, even in a fucked up way, about their child - I think it could have been an interesting direction - but no, the kid just turns into a pawn for their insanity. Again, is it more realistic? Yeah, but it sure isn't fun to read.
Overall, if you want to watch two people catapult their relationship into hell in the most frustrating way possible, go for it. Otherwise, I'd pass. If it ended earlier I would have called it unsatisfying but fine, but the next arc pushed it into full nope for me.
(-155)
(+178)
