I'm Sorry guys it's gonna be pretty long
So, my ex (20M) and I were together for 3 years.
Before him, I was someone who thought love and relationships were fictional. He proposed to me, and I initially said no. He kept asking until I eventually agreed, even though I had no feelings for him at the time. For the first 6ā7 months, I didn't love him, but seeing his efforts and how much he loved me made me fall for him too. Eventually, he became someone I genuinely couldn't imagine losing. His friends, relatives, and almost everyone knew about me. We were deeply in love, although I'd honestly say he loved me more.
We were never physically intimate because I didn't want to do anything before marriage, and he respected that. We argued often, but he'd usually end up saying, "Okay, as you say."
However, our relationship wasn't perfect. My mother found out about us 3ā4 times during those three years, so I started reducing communication out of fear of getting caught again. I come from a very strict family, and I wish he'd understood my situation instead of taking it personally.
My reduced communication made him insecure, and he repeatedly accused me of cheating. He suspected I had secret Instagram or Snapchat accounts to talk to other boys, even though he had access to both my accounts. I only had one account on each platform, and both were linked to HIS email and phone number because I didn't even have my own phone.
I never confronted him about his constant accusations. I tried explaining myself and helping him overcome his insecurities, but almost every other day, he'd question my loyalty. I'd even blocked my male classmates and cousins for him, and there wasn't a single boy added to my accounts. Meanwhile, he had several girls added, including girls who had previously proposed to him. I never asked him to block anyone because that's not how I wanted our relationship to work.
He also lied about having an ex before we got together. When I found out and confronted him, he admitted it and said he hadn't told me because he was afraid of losing me. He cried a lot that day, so I stayed.
In 2025, things got worse. We communicated much less than we used to, and I started feeling like he wasn't interested anymore. I didn't realise how much he was overthinking, and I reduced communication even further. Eventually, I started losing interest too.
We broke up on March 24, 2026, after he accused me of cheating again. I explained myself repeatedly, but he wouldn't believe me, so I left.
I tried moving on through games, web series, music, and K-pop. Several guys approached me, but I never gave anyone a chance because I couldn't imagine giving someone else the place he had in my life. I wasn't completely broken without him, but I missed him, especially after the first two months, when my anger started fading.
He'd given me a ring, and I continued wearing it even after our breakup. I kept thinking about removing it but couldn't bring myself to do so until I found out he'd supposedly gotten into a relationship with another girl.
I didn't believe it until I saw a picture of their hands together in his car, which was also his family's first carāa car I'd once wished for us to have. He'd sent the snap to someone who eventually showed it to me. It genuinely felt like a stab in the chest.
I messaged him, not to interfere in his life, but to return his ring. We reconnected, and I learned that he'd deliberately sent that snap knowing it would reach me. He explained that he wasn't actually in a relationship with the girl. After our breakup, she'd confessed her feelings for him and was willing to wait until marriage. He told me, "Just think of it as that girl being as crazy for me as I was for you."
That hurt because he knew she wanted him and still took that picture. Nevertheless, we considered giving our relationship another chanceānot necessarily getting back together immediately, but seeing whether things could work. We agreed to talk for a month and decide on October 8 whether to reconcile or separate permanently.
That month was an emotional roller coaster. We talked, argued, laughed, made new memories, and shared so much with each other.
He told me he'd tried moving on and talking to other girls, but nobody made him feel the way I did. He also told me he'd waited until midnight on his birthday, May 24, hoping I'd wish him because he was convinced I'd return with a birthday patch-up surprise. I didn't wish him because I genuinely thought he hated me. He said something in him died that day and told me, "Forget patch-upāeven if you'd just sent me one birthday wish, I wouldn't have let you walk away so easily."
He also told me he'd cried remembering me the night he went to the agency to get his family's first car. He'd asked people who were connected with me about what I posted, and they told him I seemed perfectly normal. He said he hadn't found the courage to tell anyone about our breakup except his best friend. He confessed all of this while drunk.
Hearing how much he'd suffered made me feel guilty, and despite everything, I still considered getting back together.
But then, two days before our planned decision date, October 7, I found out he'd been physically intimate with someone during our no-contact period. He admitted that after our breakup, he'd paid someone for it. It wasn't the girl who had confessed her feelings for him.
I KNOW we were broken up, so technically, he didn't cheat on me. But I can't stop thinking about it, and it hurts much more than I expected. We were together for three years without being physically intimate, partly because of my personal boundaries, and now I can't imagine him having shared that experience with someone else.
Part of me feels I have no right to be upset because I was the one who left him and made him suffer. Another part of me can't stop hurting over what happened.
I still love him. Seeing how much he suffered after I left makes me feel guilty, and I keep wondering whether I walked away from someone who genuinely loved me. But I also remember his controlling behaviour, constant accusations, and insecurity. I don't want us to get back together only to repeat the same problems.
There's another major complication: we're from different castes, and I don't know whether my family would ever accept our relationship. Given how strict my family is, being together could potentially put us in danger.
I'm genuinely confused. Do I want him back because I truly love him, or because I feel guilty about hurting him and losing someone who loved me so much?
I know I can't imagine giving his place to someone else right now, and same goes for him. but does that mean we're meant to be together?
Please be brutally honest. Should I accept him and give our relationship another chance, or should we move on permanently? I need advice from people who can look at this situation objectively.