This is one of the most interestingly dysfunctional relationships I've seen recently. Perhaps because it's so rare to have an author that would write a love interest like him in the first place, yet
also acknowledge that his desperate bids for affection are manipulative, selfish, and a violation of trust, no matter how puppy-dog cute he and his devotion may be in the process.
(Like, I feel that normally an author would frame such a boy as some sort of pure-hearted angel no matter how many lines he crossed, and a good portion of the audience would accept that presentation uncritically.)
Still, I'm not in the "their relationship definitely should just not even happen because of this" camp, mind. It seems like a relationship that could work, in the sense that I
can envision them getting together hereafter and having them be happy (and not caught in some cycle of abuse) without any huge changes to their relationship dynamics, despite the lad's... let's charitably say... poor judgement 'till now...
I mean, yes, if I had any friend in her approximate position IRL I would tell them to get the hell out of that situation, but... XD
@Rolyat_101:
Rare is the romance fiction that would allow that sort of healthy decision-making. Even having just praised the author for being grounded in reality—I'm not expecting
that much. XD