@sonch03 the first thing that comes to mind is that she is worried about her image (like you mentioned in a previous chapter) but that really doesn’t explain her behavior towards the reader. The only thing I can think of is that she is very insecure about herself as she feels she’s getting older. (Which is somewhat dumb because she’s still gorgeous realistically speaking) and is taking it out on the reader because he’s still young (in her eyes) relatively speaking and takes it out on him because she feels he WOULD leave her for Lizzie based on her (Lizzie’s) age anyway. This would also explain why she’s with other men; to prove she’s still beautiful and attractive. Essentially she’s taking the reader for granted and pushing him away even though he’s proved (at least based on there relationship prior to chapter 1) that he was willing to risk it all with her. But she’s afraid to go public because ALL of what I just mentioned will come to light, meaning her partners outside of the reader will be dragged into the spotlight and she’s afraid about dealing with the insecurities of her age, using the “image” reasoning as a front.