Two paragraphs from "The Blackness of Heaven"... My First Novel-in-Progress Thank you Courtney, for the suggestion!!

He continued to observe himself, inspecting his image for differences that Addie might recognize. His dark black hair was much longer now, nearly meeting his waist, though pulled back at the nape of his neck in much the same way it always had been. His height had not changed, but the weight that he had put on was substantial. He had gained nearly seventy pounds in the three years since Addie left. Every ounce of which was muscle mass. After recovering from the initial pain of losing her, he began to punish his body, and himself, through extreme work outs and training sessions. Somewhere within his subconscious, Alek was preparing for this very day, the day he would venture into the unknown to find his Addie.
As Alek glanced away from the crystal-blue-eyed stranger in the mirror, he realized that he was truly a different man than the one that Addie had loved. He wondered if she could still love him now, after he’d done all that he had in service to his commanders and in service to his planet. There was no going back, no changing the things that he had done. Yes, there were some regrets, but not to what he had done, only to what he had not been able to do. He had not been able to prevent Addie from entering the hole, Volkoff Black, and he had not been able to find her once she had. He had that chance now, the chance to find her and bring her home.