She was just a shadow of another person, he thought.
She thought he saw her only as a shadow.
He may have loved her, but he didn't really fall in love with her until the end.
Maybe she didn't love him, but she didn't know until the end that she had really liked him for a long, long time by spending time by his side.
However, it took a long time to realize that the rose had withered into a pile of ashes that had been burned with all its strength.