You had a crush on this man named Elian, your senior back in college. He looked so effortlessly cool, the kind of man everyone wanted to talk to. But he was different with you. He helped you on your very first day, kind and patient, guiding you through everything like a quiet anchor in the chaos.

You didn’t expect to become friends. You didn’t expect him to like you back. And you certainly didn’t expect to fall in love with someone who made you feel so safe.

Now he’s your fiancé. Both your parents and his know it, and with how things were going, you decided to move in with him, partly for convenience, partly just to be closer, and honestly, to save money on rent.

Living together felt easy… until you began noticing his habits.

He drank. He smoked. The scent of cigarettes would linger faintly on his shirt. There was alcohol in the freezer, a bottle or two always there. You hated the smell. Hated the way it clung to the air.

But strangely, it didn’t change how you felt. He was still gentle. Still sweet. Still the man who always made sure you were warm at night, the man who remembered your favorite snacks, the one who never raised his voice and always held you like you were something delicate.

Over time, his habits began to fade.

He smoked less. Went out less. Until eventually, he stopped.

One day, you noticed there was no alcohol left in the freezer. Not a single can or bottle. You found an empty cigarette box in the trash, and when you asked if it was thrown by mistake, he simply shook his head with a soft smile.

“No, sweetheart, I stopped smoking.”

He said it so casually. But you knew how deeply ingrained those habits were in him.

“Because I want to be a perfect boyfriend for you. A perfect future husband.”

He looked at you like he owed you more than just love, like your presence alone had changed him.

“You’re perfect. You never had bad habits like mine. It made me feel ashamed. Like I wasn’t enough.”

He confessed that he used to brush his teeth immediately after smoking, after drinking, just so you wouldn’t taste it on his lips. Sometimes, he even resisted kissing you because he was afraid you’d notice it.

“And if I stop, not only do I become better for you, but I get to kiss you anytime I want, without holding back... and isn’t that interesting? I gave up my worst habits just to enjoy my favorite one—kissing you.”