As the months passed, Jasmine found herself torn between her love for Alex and the growing realization that he might never fully let her in. Their relationship had become a series of moments—beautiful, fleeting, but fragile, like glass that could shatter at any moment.One night, after a particularly long and silent dinner, she decided to confront him once and for all. "Alex," she said, her voice steady, "I need to know if you see a future with me. If this is going somewhere."He looked at her, his gaze heavy with something she couldn't quite name. "Jasmine, I love you. But there are parts of me that I can't change, things I can't undo. I don't want you to get hurt."Her heart ached at his words, but she refused to let her fear control her. "I'm not afraid of your past, Alex. I'm afraid of losing you."He sighed, reaching for her hand. "Maybe… maybe it's time I told you everything."That night, Alex shared his story with her, a painful tale of loss and regret that left her reeling. He spoke of his father's death, the burden of responsibility he'd carried since he was a teenager, the choices he'd made out of desperation and fear. He told her about the mistakes that haunted him, the things he couldn't forgive himself for.Jasmine listened, her heart breaking for him, for the pain he'd kept hidden for so long. When he finished, she took his hand, her voice trembling as she spoke."Alex, we all have things we regret. But those things don't define you. They don't make you unworthy of love."He looked at her, his eyes filled with a mixture of hope and sorrow. "I want to believe that. But sometimes, I don't know if I deserve you."She held him close, feeling the weight of his pain, the depth of his struggle. In that moment, she knew that loving him would mean accepting his darkness, embracing the parts of him that he couldn't bring himself to love.But even as she held him, a quiet fear lingered in her heart, a fear that his pain might one day drive them apart.