I don't think the midpoint earns the second half. I don't like to spoiler, but Im very wary to abusive alarm bells (threats, power imbalance, physical altercations, mocking behavior) immediately turning into a full house relationship. Maybe there is a whole second language that was being spoken specifically for the world building, because it certainly doesn't make any sense in this reality.
Like I said, I'm wary, I take threating behavior seriously even in fiction, but I'm not against it. The midpoint just wasn't flushed out enough. The status quo changed on a dime.
I do have to say, bloody enjoyable. I have more complaints, but I'll refrain. Not worth it. It was fun, I'm buying the next one.