ofc! it may not be correct but i am basing my assumptions on other books i’ve read that follow similar plots, (i also don’t remember any names cuz i truly js skimmed over the book so far). So basically i think the top dude is purposely trying to get mc to fall for him, for example he obviously caused the incident of mc stumbling but since he was the one who helped him in clear he had no intentions to hurt him but rather have him be more dependent on him. His plan is to probably have mc fall for him so he can either break his heart completely and leave him, or have mc so brainwashed to the point he can’t live without him. This is probably his revenge as he noticed that mc complied with him completely, and from his perspective he felt he hadn’t hurt mc enough.
y’all i prolly have trust issues bc i literally predicted the whole plot and so far each prediction has been correct