It is so easy to hate Asha. Don't get me wrong- she hasn't been the kindest Sa-khui to anyone. What we don't get is that she is a mother is grieving and has yet to overcome the grief of losing her child right after birth. We hear about it in earlier books, but never much beyond that the event made her bitter. It makes her actions understandable but not excusable, especially the way she treats Hemalo. I am glad they were able to talk out their feelings and work together on their relationship and their communication. No mother or parent should experience the loss of their child.

This isn't a spoiler because it's talked about in other books, but here's a TW/content description for those who wonder if they should skip this book: Asha and Hemalo had a baby who was born early and only survived a few hours. Their grief tore them apart, and they are separated at the beginning of this book. The death of the infant is not described on page, but it is frequently mentioned, and Asha's grief is described in detail. This is a spoiler:

In the epilogue there is a detailed childbirth scene of their second child, who is born healthy.

I wasn’t super captivated by Asha and Hemalo to begin with but I think Dixon wrote a really nice story about dealing with grief and second chances.