You entered my life with force. I didn’t use to think about you too much, never even assumed that we could be more than mere acquaintances—work colleagues at best. In fact, we didn’t click initially. We were butting heads, arguing, despising each other. There was something about you that riled me up, made me frustrated with your presence.

I never thought anything could happen between us. I even remember telling myself, “He’s not your type in any way.” And it was true. Your hair, eye color, personality, career… Everything about you was nothing I was ever looking for.

I’ve always had a specific idea of how my love life would go. And you threw a curveball into any plans that I could have never foreseen. I’ve tried to resist you, convincing myself that it’s not what it seems to be. That it would only get me hurt.

But you proved me wrong.

We got closer as friends. We talked and worked together, and then the unimaginable happened: You quickly became the person I trusted the most in the entire world. The way you cared about me made me realize I’ve never been truly cared for. The way you looked at me didn’t make me think of romantic comedies — instead, it made me realize I was finally safe with someone I could build a life with.

Oftentimes, I catch myself wondering how I got so lucky. I wonder what made you fall for someone like me, someone who’s so different from you. We aren’t the usual couple. If you took one glance at us, you would never think we were anything more than two strangers. We are nothing alike, yet so similar.

We went through the worst of it all before even saying I love you.

We’ve experienced pain and loss, and we were there for each other; we bonded. We didn’t date in the traditional sense. Instead, we fell for each other unexpectedly, quickly yet steadily, and we never looked back. Now we can’t even remember why we couldn’t see the potential of a forever together.

You were never someone I thought I’ll end up with. I didn’t even think we could become friends due to our differences. But we have. We’ve become more than that. We’ve become each other’s person. Someone who will never go away, no matter what happens.

Sometimes in life, we meet someone who seems like a passing soul, someone who isn’t destined to stay. However, soon we realize that we couldn’t be more wrong. Those people are our soulmates. Those are the ones worth waiting for.

And I’m thankful for finding you. Every single day.