Planning to confess to my best friend (who is straight) KABADO BENTE

Hi, I just need some honest advice because kinakabahan talaga ako right now.

Situation:
I have a best friend and we’ve known each other for years. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I developed feelings for her. The thing is, she’s straight and I fully respect that.

I’m not confessing because I expect anything romantic from her. I just want to be honest and finally get this off my chest because I’ve been carrying it for a while now.

Problem:
She’s my best friend and I value our friendship a lot. My biggest fear is that things might change or become awkward between us after I say it.

What I’ve done so far:
I already asked her when we could meet because I told her I wanted to tell her something.

Plan:
My plan is to ask her out for coffee so we can catch up since we’ve both been busy lately. At some point during that meet up, I’m planning to tell her honestly that somewhere along the way I started liking her.

I also wrote a confession letter already (which took me a long time to write). The funny thing is… the letter is ready, pero ako hindi pa. 😭

I plan to reassure her that I know she’s straight and that I’m not expecting anything from her. I just want to be honest. After I say it, I might give her the letter so she can read it later.

Advice needed:
For people who have been in similar situations:

• Did confessing help you feel better afterwards?
• How did you keep the friendship from becoming awkward?
• Is there anything I should or shouldn’t do in that moment?
- PAANO KO SISIMULAN HAHAHA ALAM NIYO BA KAPAG CHISMIS DIRE-DIRETSO AKO DITO HINDI

Right now I feel brave one minute, then the next minute sobrang kabado na ako.

Any advice would really help.