Archie,
First of all , you deserve kudos for being graceful enough to accept that your friend did not deserve your rejection . Look at this way, maybe he didn’ t deserve this but it might have been the need of he hour.Accepting his proposal might have been not worth it because how could have you entered into a relationship if you were not prepared for it and you had not that feeling of love for that guy.
The way your family loves you is the purest form of love. It seems like you have made this ‘love’ as a benchmark . You can only open up to people when you keep aside your judgements and fears which have been defining your relationships till now.