“Dating you is like dating a block of ice…I don’t know if you even like me…Can you blame him for what he did? If you actually cared that much, you’d cry or show some emotion. Don’t embarrass us, Sloane.”

These intrusive thoughts plague Sloane in moments of emotional turmoil and symbolize her insecurities and the nature of her internal conflicts. The accusatory tone in which she addresses herself also reveals the depths of her struggles with self-worth, and it is clear that she has internalized others’ assertions that she lacks emotion and is somehow “broken.” Though Huang has not yet revealed the events of Sloane’s past that have caused this insecurity with emotional expression, it is clear that she holds trauma that will be further explored as the novel unfolds.

“Vacation or not, I was still me. I didn’t let people see past what I wanted them to see, and nothing would change that—not even a forced week off with my client nemesis.”

With the firm, stubborn tone of this assertion, Sloane actively rejects Xavier’s attempt to help her relinquish her need for control. By equating her very identity with her emotional walls and boundaries, Sloane reinforces her lifelong belief that her professional façade is her entire personality, and she actively rejects the idea of considering the deeper emotions that lie suppressed in her psyche. By labeling Xavier her “client nemesis,” she also establishes a generalized form of the enemies-to-lovers trope, which will evolve as she and Xavier become closer despite these self-imposed barriers to greater connection.