When Asher is braced above me, when his hips are flush to mine, I wish I could make him understand that there’s nothing inside him I would not welcome inside me. How even if there are broken parts of him and broken parts of me, together we still make a whole.
-- Lily (chapter 2)

Importance: The intimate relationship between Lily and Asher is understood as a healing, yet all-consuming, feature of their lives together. Lily has been convinced by her father's rejection that nobody will be able to love her or see her as what she believes herself to be. In being intimate with Asher, he stands as proof that she can be loved and desired, even if Asher is not yet aware of her secret.

I don’t know what would have happened if I had not left my marriage. I may not have been here today to even wonder about it...
-- Olivia (chapter 3)