I've thought about all the things I wanted to say to you. Unlike you, I've held back from tearing you down or making you feel the way you've made me feel because I'm not a bully. I'm not the girl that hurts other girls out of her own insecurities. I'm not the girl that pretends I'm nice when I'm really not. I'm not the girl that lies about other people to make herself seem better. I'm the girl that would rather take the heat, then dish it out. I've tried to hold back from reacting about the things you've said about me, and I justify it by reminding myself that you hurting me is a reflection on you as a person- not me. I could sit here and give you the wake up call that you deserve, but I've thought of something better.

I've decided that I want to thank you.

I want to thank you first, for being the best fake friend I've ever had. Honestly, you deserve and Oscar for your performance. Had you never told me that you were pretending to be my friend, I probably would have remained clueless because I like to believe the best in people. While I was being genuine and honest with you, it was devastating to realize that you were using those things I told you to make fun of me behind my back. But I won't dwell on that because you taught me a valuable lesson, and that is that I won't make the mistake of trusting you or anyone like you again. And even though what you did hurt me, I take solace in knowing that I was always true to you- I was always me. And I'm proud of myself for that.

Secondly, thank you for tearing me apart again and again. Thank you for all the nasty texts you sent me. Because for the first time- you showed me who you actually are. You knew exactly how to hurt me, and you did. Telling me that you never liked me and that I'm weird, I can handle that. But telling me that the boy I care about does nothing but trash me and make fun of me daily- that was clever of you. That taught me another lesson, and that is to never speak to anyone the way you've spoken to me. Because unlike you, I was incredibly nice back. And while you kept firing insult after insult, (which maybe I deserved), I continued to be respectful and wish you the best. So thank you for showing me that I have the strength to be the bigger person, I appreciate that.

Third, thank you for showing me how to be classy and graceful, by showing me how unattractive it is to have a lack thereof. We both hurt each other, but the difference is that I never did it intentionally like you did. You went out of your way to ruin my reputation and tear me down any chance that you got. And it showed me that I never want to be that girl. That girl that feels she has to compete by tearing other girls down to make herself seem better. I never understood why you did those things, because you truly are a beautiful girl with so much potential.

Lastly, I want to thank you for being endlessly bound to the man I thought I wanted. Thank you for keeping him, because it might have been the nicest thing you've ever done for me. Because you gave me the chance to be free, and find happiness again. I know that you think you "won," because in your mind we were competing for the same man. Except I never had to compete, nor did I want to. You thinking you "won," him isn't a win. You didn't win anything. I did.

I won because I get to keep my pride. I get to keep my dignity. I get to move on and experience the world free from the toxicity that you create. I get to go to bed every night never having to worry about if the person I love is in love with me because I get to search for the love that I truly deserve, and never have to question it. You may have won him, but I won something much better: happiness.

What I did to you, was never intentional. I never went out of my way to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you in the first place. I never wanted to make a mess of this all, and I never wanted to have to sit here and write this. You intentionally want to hurt me, and at first I understood. I totally deserved it. But then you started making up lies about me. You made up lies about me texting you from a fake number- sorry I don't have the time, nor the need. You made up lies about me sending you nasty texts, when in fact it was you being nasty and me being nice. I held back for so long, because I thought: I deserve this. But nobody deserves to be degraded by lies. So I know you're going to read this. I know that you're going to deny all of this. I know that you're going to say I'm making it up, because you never own up to anything. I know you're going to say that you just wanted to drop the whole thing even though those are my words, not yours. If you want to continue to deny it, I don't care. Because the truth always comes out.

The truth is, I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to talk about you. I don't want to ever write another article about either of you. Because honestly, I've been over this since the last nasty text you sent me. You had me at "he says awful things about you daily if you want that honest truth." That was enough to make me not want to talk to either of you. You tried so hard to take me down, and you used him to do it. Well congratulations, you made your message loud and clear and that was to stay away. So you got your wish, but I got a second chance. A chance to find love that I deserve where I'll never be a second option to anyone.

To all the girls out there reading this, I want to remind you of something. You are never a second option to anyone. If you ever feel that you have to compete for someone's attention, you must respect yourself to remember that you are worth being loved by someone who only has eyes for you. And if any guy chooses to give someone else the same attention he gives you, then that's when it's time to walk away. That's not a loss, that a win. Don't ever let a boy take away your self worth. Just because he chooses to be with someone else, doesn't mean that you're not good enough. It means that he isn't man enough to handle how amazing you truly are. You're worth so much more than second place, and I'm glad that I can tell you this from experience.

So thank you both for giving me the opportunity to be better. I really appreciate it.

Taylor.