To the boy who almost took my best friend,

I emphasize "boy" because no man would do to her what you did. A man wouldn't rip her away from her family. A man wouldn't use fake commitment to get what he wanted from her. A man would not have put his hands on her. A man would have never imagined destroying her self esteem the way you so effortlessly did.

To the boy who never cared for my best friend,

You anxiously preyed on her insecurities. You anxiously preyed in the corner, awaiting any flaws in relationships you could quickly manipulate to get your way, and have her isolated from the people who could have yanked her out of your death grip. The people like me. People like me who were so in pain, watching you aimlessly destroy the bright shining girl we all loved. You silently plotted until her every bridge was burned and you were all she had, so you knew you would always have her under your thumb. You made one of the most amazing and bubbly people I have ever known so lifeless, that she couldn't even run because she thought she had nowhere to run.

You manipulated her so selfishly.

But to your dismay, I never gave up on her. I never left her. I never decided she wasn't worth it. After you had her unfriend me on Facebook, I still looked at her profile to make sure she was okay. She was so far from okay, it made my soul ache to see the life gone from her eyes. You drained her. All for your own good fun and manipulation.

To the boy who left my best friend,

I forgive you.

I mean that. I forgive you for stealing her heart so falsely. I forgive you for cheating on her. I forgive you for helping her grow up. Because without your boyish manipulation and selfish actions, I wouldn't have the amazing woman I am blessed to call my best friend. I would not have the woman who is so strong, she puts body builders to shame with her mental and emotional strength. Without your disgusting imprisonment of her, she would have never learned how to break free, and how to think for herself, and be independent. Without your inability to truly commit, she would not have finally realized she was worth more than to be used and abused, and left your sorry ass. And she would not be as happy and full of life as she is.

If it weren't for your mission to ruin her, I would not have her to thank for all of the sleepless nights we have spent having deep conversations about life and love in the last year and a half.

I forgive you because you blessed the world with one more strong, amazing, crazy, independent woman.

You blessed another man with the beauty of the smile you fought to take away.

I forgive you because you have allowed her to celebrate her individuality and beauty. You leaving her is the best thing to ever happen to her, because it brought her back to those who love her. It brought one man the woman of his dreams.

I forgive you because you did not ruin her.

You were just a bump in her road to self-discovery and success. So I forgive you.