“In the past, I’d exacted retribution on those who crossed me immediately. Fuck revenge being a dish best served cold; my motto has always been strike fast, strike hard, and strike true.”

This passage characterizes early on Dante’s wrathful nature. Here he describes his normal method of operating, and his inability to take his normal path with Francis rankles.

“Familial relationships shouldn’t be transactional, but I couldn’t shake the sense I owed my parents a huge debt for everything—the opportunities, the education, the freedom to live and work where I want without worrying about money. They were luxuries most people didn’t have and I didn’t take them for granted.”

Vivian’s observations reveal another aspect of her obedience besides her desire to avoid loneliness. She recognizes all of the ways that she has lived a privileged life, and she wants to pay her parents back, in a sense, for everything they gave her, despite knowing that their relationship should not be transactional.

“Dante had hit me right in the ugliest, most undesirable part of myself. The part I loathed but couldn’t shake.”

When Dante makes a quip about Vivian being a perfectionist who wants to please her parents, he hits one of her most sore spots. The dig hurts her because she hates it, despite wishing she could be different. The moment also foreshadows Vivian’s eventual ability to shake off her parent-pleasing self.