#Then we're presented with several books trying to gaslight us into believing the opposite.

[stromuprisahat]

I've blocked an anti yesterday, who claimed the Darkling abused Alina so badly he forced her to attempt suicide to escape him.

And just... No honey, how did you read that book?

Alina didn't try to kill herself to get away from the Darkling. She tried to kill them both, because she was forced to face the fact he's right, and they're truly alike in some aspects. That she loves her power and the power it brings her over others. She doesn't want to live in shadows of obscurity.

She wasn't some poor desperate teen victim, but a young woman avoiding unpleasant truths no matter the cost.

“I want this.” I need it. Sacrifice or selfishness, it didn’t matter anymore. ... “There isn’t any choice to make. This is what was meant to be.” It was true. I felt it in the collar, in the weight of the fetter. For the first time in weeks, I felt strong.

Siege and Storm- Chapter 23

And Aleksander isn't only a representation of her not being the perfect, nice, saintly nobody, he will never let her hide and forget it.