Belle is his “flicker of light amidst an ocean of darkness” and he’ll realise if he doesn’t change for the better, that light is going to be snuffed out.
That’s a good point. So far no one has gone from light to darkness because of Rumple. Cora was already self centered and selfish; Bae managed to keep himself on the right side of the line. Lacey gave in, I guess, but she was already straddling the line. If Lacey is Belle without the brakes, then it would be very easy for Belle to move over to Lacey-territory with little provocation.
[adrotate group="5"]
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"