You create a such a sense of realism with how you approach the physical description of the nanites being injected, not great with needles lol, and i felt that one! I love the customization element, being able to change his skin to suit his situation, Caucasian for the boss, fashionable green for the wife, and the controls in the palm, you bring a whole new level of future tech to this that really works.

The way you slip Matt in there, you give the character a depth that forces the reader to empathize and drawn their own conclusion on who Matt was to him, why the sacrifice was useless/he couldn't save him and why it left such deep scars. I personally envisioned Matt as someone who had meant something to him and Lara, who Arnav had been unable to save. It really explains Lara in the first half so well, giving her a reason beyond vanity to experience an emotional reaction to his appearance, the scars reminding her of disappointment as opposed to her being disappointed that he looks like that.

Then the ending, set up by his overwhelming desire to just be next to Lara, then going into a shop, choosing to wear the green skin that he didn't think so much of, making a further purchase and his closing remark of how Lara will love the way he looks. You slip a lot of different emotions in here, building on whats in the first half, there are hints of anger and resentment, of trying to claim back oneself, of sadness, of need, and a hunger for joy once known. There is something about how you approach this that makes it feel as though they are grieving, and these actions are motivation by grief, and a struggle to deal with what has happened, and to move on. It changes the first half and set up with Lara so much, and what seemed like shallow vanity evokes heart felt empathy <3