When we first met, we both had this quiet, unshakable feeling that the other person was going to be an incredibly important part of our lives. But life has its own schedule. At the time, one of us was already in a relationship, so we settled into the best possible alternative: a deep, soul-level friendship. We spent that first year as each other’s confidants and best friends. We navigated life’s highs and lows side-by-side, never wavering in our loyalty or the certainty that we were "meant to be" in each other’s orbit. A year later, when the timing finally aligned, that friendship bloomed into something more. It wasn’t a forced change; it was the most natural thing in the world to transition from best friends to best friends who happen to be in love.