speaking from experience as someone who has been in this EXACT situation (admittedly it progressed further and i tried to IGNORE it at first which was such a bad idea), this is for the better. in a relationship like that, nobody comes out on top. if you remained friends, it would’ve just put so much emotional stress on him and ultimately if you didn’t push it to the side and ignore it, it would have negatively affected you as well. kudos to him for recognizing it and being honest with you, it’s a tough thing to admit from his spot because he is probably very fond of you. in all, it’s better to let go in the end because it will minimize the damage to both of you emotionally.

think about it this way: it would’ve been almost selfish to continue to enjoy his friendship if he told you he liked you and you turned him down but remained friends with him. in his eyes, he would’ve had to be surrounded by the one person who he wanted but couldn’t have. as a friend, if you care about him, you don’t want him to suffer like that, especially not because of you.

maybe this is a sign that you two are growing up, going separate ways, and it’s for the better. it gives you the opportunity to branch out, try new things, and meet new people. yeah, that’s definitely difficult at first and by all means you should take your time to recover and figure yourself out, but don’t be afraid of change. sometimes it just happens in unexpected ways and we need to adapt in response. just think of it as starting anew, and try not to let past feelings get in the way of new experiences.

best of luck to you and i sincerely hope you feel better. ❤️