I'm not the writer but a lot more details of the common variety may have made it work less? I know I was confused about why she broke up with him cuz he actually seemed nice. I suppose more details about their relationship would have reinforced that, but I'd already understood it was a good relationship from the references to gaming nights. And then why the breakup gets explained-- I guess I'm saying, I really liked it the way it was. And I did pick up on him being the spider. And I really appreciate him not killing her too, it supports the "I have to keep my precious person safe even against themself" feeling.
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Thank you for your thoughts! :) It's interesting to read about what worked about the story for you! I do think that I wouldn't have changed anything about this story (actually, making it longer probably would have made it significantly worse and more dull/poorly paced, I would agree), but hmm, I suppose it's just because I got attached to the characters? Even though I tried to scope this project relatively small and didn't come up with complex backstories for the characters to begin with, I ended up making them a bit more well-rounded in my notes over the course of development, and I'm a little disappointed I didn't get to add all that in there!