Sorry for my ignorance, but is John the one who narrates Part IX? Isa seems so close to this person, but I don't know if they reached this stage yet, so I'm asking to be sure. The way you wrote about Isa and John is beautiful, really deep.
I want to know more about Isa, how she end up like this. And John should be a man and talk about his feelings. Their relationship reminds me a little bit the movie "Closer".