Some of you may get something out of this excerpt the dev posted yesterday in response to someone (nothing to do with me).
I'm not saying that the next update will magically answer your question. I'm saying it has to be on the table before I can give you a good answer because all of this has to do with Steph's primary motivation. I want the story to have that emotional quality you are talking about, but until I give everyone the "Oh, now I get it." moment . . . ya, you caught me, I'm playing it safe until I have it.
I will say this - I don't want the MC to feel he was fooled (At least not in the way everyone is thinking), but I do want him to feel he got in over his head if on the low confidence path. I want Steph to take him at his word when he says "Open Marriage." If he has high confidence, she conforms to him and if it is low, she does what she wants but still within the realm of what they have agreed to do.
I got the impression that the author has a little chaos in his head. There was a wonderful Konstantin Stanislavsky - Russian and Soviet theater director, actor, teacher, theorist, theater reformer. "I do not believe!" - a phrase that became legendary, he uttered it when the actors played poorly. “Bad” means what the actors did on stage did not match the atmosphere they created. This game has the same problem.
The author needs a good editor. Many seemingly different dialogues lead to the same result. For this reason they seem meaningless. The player feels that he has been deceived. We have to make choices, controlling confidence, in hundreds of minor dialogues, but have no choice in key moments. The inability to control MS at such moments only makes the situation worse. This is a lie. The “game over” option, which forces the player onto a specific route, has the same effect.
In this story, I see how the author forgets what he said two paragraphs ago. This also creates a feeling of deception. Example: As with the HC path, the sequence of choices is: “Let's hear what they have to say before we make any decisions.” “No, I wouldn't. “Not with a friend.” “I think we should go and at least hear what they have to say.” “Just remember, today is supposed to be just talking.” “Let's agree right now to keep our clothes on while we are there” can lead to striptease and sex? With this choice, the evening should end ONLY with a conversation, otherwise we see that Steph does not care about the opinion of the MC. This means that MS was deceived. Now MC/Steph look like a couple of teenagers with sperm toxicosis. At the word “tits,” they fly off the hook and lose control of themselves. How did they live four years of marriage? Actions must be consistent, the decision made must be implemented. It is precisely in the ability to control the situation, to keep Steph in check, that the MC’s confidence should manifest itself. He shouldn't always say yes, he shouldn't apologize for Steph's actions. Now he is a rag on which Steph wipes his feet.
The author says: “If he has high confidence, she conforms to him,” but how to do this if any attempt to rein in the presumptuous Steph leads to a loss of confidence. The author is deceiving. I don't see Steph obeying the MC, I see the MC doing whatever Steph wants, he always says yes. He never punishes Steph for her antics, he only apologizes. This insecure MC is a wuss. Deception again. MC promised sex to MC+Tori+Jason, he didn't get it. MC was deceived. If MC ever gets what he was promised (which I don't believe), then the fee that MC will pay by then will be many times greater than the reward. This means that MS was deceived.
For me, Steph, Tori and Jason are the antagonists of the MC. They are the ones who control it. I see the game not as three different paths, but as one path to one goal. Only the attitude of this trio towards the MC changes; the goals of Steph, Tori and Jason do not change. Steph's goal is to fuck anyone, anytime, anywhere. The author writes: I want Steph to take him at his word when he says "Open Marriage". Why believe her? On the HC path she looks white and fluffy because the MC does everything as she wants. MC does not stop her from going towards her goal. On the LC path, when the MC becomes an obstacle, she sweeps the MC aside like a bulldozer, moving towards her goal. No matter what, Steph is pushing MC towards an open marriage, she needs it more than MC. This means that MS will pay more than he receives. MC was deceived.
In the MC/Tori conversation, our hero learns that he is not needed, the target is Steph. MC was deceived. We are not given the opportunity to stop the event, we are not allowed to leave and slam the door. Instead, the MC, with a zombie smile, continues to say: “okay, deceive me some more.” This situation only strengthens the feeling that the MC has been deceived, showing him with a rag on which Steph, Tori and Jason wipe their feet. Further, above, I wrote about a chain of choices, the result of which should be only a conversation, without striptease. But at any level, dom Steph rushes, like a moose during the rut, towards his goal of “freely fucking everything that moves and what doesn’t move – stir it up and fuck it.” She sweeps away all contracts with MS, forgets all promises. Does whatever he wants. Where is the confident and dominant MC here? we were deceived, MC was deceived. MC doesn't stand up - he's a wuss.
I’m wondering if the author of the game also doesn’t react to the deception? The author says: “It’s good that I was deceived”? How in his head is all this a story of love and a happy marriage? Why doesn't he see that MC was deceived and betrayed?
Hate on it all you want, but let the dev continue with their own vision of the game 
