This study introduces a novel truncated Mittage–Leffler (M)- proportional derivative (TMPD) and examines its impact on the perturbed nonlinear Schrödinger equation (PNLSE) that includes fourth-order dispersion and cubic-quintic nonlinearity. The TMPD-PNLSE is used to model light signals in nanofibers. In addition to dispersion and Kerr nonlinearity, which are characteristics of the NLSE, the PNLSE also exhibits self-steepening and self-phase modulation effects. The unified method is implemented to derive exact solutions for the model equation. These solutions provide a variety of phenomena; including breathers, geometric chaos, and complex solitons. The solutions also exhibit numerous structures, such as geometric chaos, where undulated M-shaped and M-shaped solitons are embedded. The modulation instability is analyzed, finding that it is triggered when the coefficient of the fourth-order dispersion surpasses a critical value.