Some scenes need to be cut, even the ones you worked hard on. The movie gets better without them.

Attachment to effort is not the same as quality. Something can be genuinely good, and cost you weeks, and still be wrong for what the thing needs to be, and the hours you spent are the exact reason it is hard to remove. The work is not wasted by being cut.

When you are deciding what to keep, ask what serves the whole rather than what cost the most to make. Save the cut piece somewhere if it helps. Then take it out and look at what is left without it.