I hit that chapter last night after a long reading session. The whole thing is basically a massive, emotional hangover from the public fight at the banquet in the previous chapter. Maxi’s completely shattered, physically and mentally, just locked in her room replaying every awful thing Riftan said. There’s this heavy, suffocating feeling because she’s utterly convinced he must hate her now.
The key shift is when Riftan finally comes to her. It’s not some grand reconciliation—it’s raw and messy. He’s still furious, but his anger twists into this agonizing confession. He lays it all out: the years of longing, watching her from afar, feeling unworthy. The line about building a palace with his own hands if he thought it would make her look at him just wrecked me. It recontextualizes all his coldness and distance as desperate, clumsy self-protection. He’s been hurting just as much, just differently.
Then he leaves again, and you’re left with Maxi alone, trying to process this bomb he dropped. The chapter ends on that quiet, stunned confusion, which is somehow more impactful than any dramatic resolution. Her whole understanding of their marriage just got flipped.