7 Years, a Promise of Marriage, and Now My Heart Is Shattered and Directionless

Assalamu alaikum. I’m writing this with a heavy heart, truly lost and needing some outside thoughts. I was in a long-distance connection with a man for 7 years. We spoke of nikah, dreamed of a future together, and I put my complete trust in him. When things finally moved forward, he sent his parents to meet my family. They said they’d reach out after settling into their new house. But then odd things started happening. He never gave me his actual family address-the one he provided seemed off. He was hesitant to share details about his relatives, never showed me his ID, and I discovered he was planning to change his name on official papers. Because of these inconsistencies, my family and I began checking through trusted people. Through them we learned his family is Ahmadi. Neither he nor his parents ever told us this directly. To this day, I haven’t mentioned that we found out through our contacts, and he still hasn’t openly told me himself. When I confronted him about the false address, the secrecy, and how his family handled matters, we had a big fight. Over a month has passed since then, and his parents haven’t contacted my family once. He’s the only one who still reaches out, saying he misses me, that his love was genuine all these years, and he’ll clear every misunderstanding. But he still hasn’t given a proper address or real answers about what caused this mess. What pains me most is losing 7 years-my youth, feelings, trust, and hopes-on this bond. I crossed lines I deeply regret, thinking it would end in a halal marriage. I feel ashamed for talking to a non-mahram in ways I shouldn’t have, ignoring the boundaries Allah set. Now I’m heartbroken, confused, and in a situation I never imagined. A part of me wants to trust his words of love, but another part asks: why would someone who claims to love me hide such vital things for so long? Am I making too much of this, or are these real warning signs? What would you do in my shoes?