After that night, a fragile truce settled between them. Jasmine felt a deeper understanding of Alex, but it came with a weight she hadn't anticipated. The cracks in their relationship were still there, and as much as they tried to bridge the gaps, the shadows of their pasts loomed large.Jasmine found herself caught in a cycle of hope and fear. She had opened her heart, and yet every time she looked at Alex, she saw the burden he carried. It was as if they were both balancing on the edge of a precipice, and she feared that one misstep could send them tumbling into the abyss.In the following weeks, they spent more time together, filling the spaces between them with laughter and love. Yet, there were still moments when the tension would crackle in the air, moments when Alex would grow quiet, retreating into himself like a turtle pulling into its shell.One rainy evening, while they were cozied up on the couch watching an old movie, she felt the familiar urge to breach the subject again. "Alex," she began tentatively, "do you think we're making progress? I mean, do you feel like you can share more with me?"He looked at her, his expression thoughtful but guarded. "I'm trying, Jasmine. But some things… they're hard to talk about."The movie played on, but Jasmine's attention was solely on him. "I get that. But the more you hold back, the more I feel like there's a wall between us."He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I know. It's just… some nights, I feel like I'm teetering on the edge of everything. I don't want to bring you down with me."Her heart ached at his words. "You're not a burden, Alex. You're the person I care about the most. We're in this together."He nodded, but the tension in his body didn't ease. She wanted to shake him, to make him see that vulnerability didn't mean weakness, that sharing his pain wouldn't push her away—it would draw them closer.As the evening wore on, the movie faded into the background, their conversation shifting into silence, thick with unspoken words. Jasmine leaned her head against his shoulder, hoping her presence would soothe him."Can I ask you something?" she said after a while, breaking the silence."Anything.""Do you ever think about what happens next? Where we're headed?" Her voice was soft, but she felt the gravity of her words.He hesitated, and she could feel the tension coiling between them. "I do. But it scares me," he admitted. "What if I can't be the person you need? What if I can't change?""Change doesn't happen overnight," she replied. "But we can take it one step at a time. I believe in us."As he turned to look at her, she saw a flicker of something in his eyes—hope, perhaps, but also fear. "I want to believe that too," he said softly.