Chaitravs family

I enjoyed this book.However, I found some loose ends in this one which may be I need someone to decipher for me. for instance, there is no logical explanation of why Catherine's relationship with Stuart is this way? Why did her dad abuse her? The reasons for her fears and anxieties were her past lives but if so, shouldn't she be terrified of Stuart? (given he was her killer in one of the past lives?) Her dad's abuse totally did not make sense too. How could she get over it without confronting him? Am I missing something?can someone help?