All spoilers are left unmarked as per the Spoiler Policy. If you are reading this subpage or any other beside the main work page, it is assumed that you have either played through every route in the game or, for some reason, do not care about potential spoilers. Read at your own risk.
During the improv class in Episode 3, Megan tells you about her experience with Nick cheating on her after you tell her about the Ana flashback. It's comforting to know that someone empathizes with you, even more so that it's someone that you trust and want to become close to. This heartwarming moment is even more so if you decide to profess your feelings for her in that moment, leading to a tender, romantic kiss. It's cathartic to finally let all of that out to someone who understands, and for them to love you regardless of what may have happened or how you reacted.
During Episode 3, when you pick up Melissa to go to Megan's play and see Peter hit her again, you have a moment where you decide, once and for all, that you're going to do something about it. That, combined with Melissa opening up and legitimately thanking you for caring about her is enough to thaw a frozen heart. Doubly so if you are still pursuing her at this point as you are taking action in defense of your beloved while being supported by her love and thankfulness for you.
Also, during the play when she goes to hold your hand. While she has already, in a general sense, expressed how much she cares for you for being good to her and defending her from Peter, it's still a really sweet, subtle moment that opens the door for Melissa to be more openly caring and romantic, even if there isn't a visible, open change until Episode 5 or 6.
Later on in the camping trip during Episode 4, when you find out that Liam has cancer it's still comforting to see him have this new resolve to do more with his life. It is a bit shameful that it took something like that to get him to really do it, but the fact that he can still pull through and at least try to make the best of it is invigorating.
During Episode 4, if you are pursuing both Megan and Melissa, Melissa will tell Megan about your relations out of guilt. Although Megan is a bit hurt, she realizes that you didn't cheat by being intimate with her. After a long talk with her and then with all three of you, you all decide that it's best if you date both of them so that you can find out how you really feel. While the prospect of having to choose between the two as well as Melissa's intense guilt can go into Tear Jerker territory, it's still so beautiful that both Megan and Melissa would be willing to put their own feelings aside for their friend's (and yours, if you choose the other girl).
If you choose to be with Melissa, there's the moment in Episode 8 where you, she, and Liam are all staying at his place as you and Melissa recover from the events of Episodes 6-8. With the experience being as traumatic as it was, you and Melissa are both essentially silent for weeks; enjoying each other's company and being there for each other, but you just don't have the energy to live like you used to. This remains the case until one day, Liam cracks a joke in typical Liam fashion, and it makes Melissa laugh, something that she hadn't even thought about doing for months. It's this act that kick starts the recovery process for you two. It's not hammy or out of character for Liam to do, and that's what makes it so special. Although the act itself is small, the fact that Liam can keep you and all your friends going in such tough times (and that he actually tries to) really says a lot about his character and solidifies your friendship with him if it wasn't already solidified beforehand.
The very end of the game, whatever the fine details of your particular playthrough may be, always pulls at the heartstrings a little. After having a memorial for the girl who died in Episode 6, you and all of your friends spend time together and reflect on life, it's twists and turns, and the difficulty it can bring. You give a particularly evocative monologue that sticks with just about anybody, no matter what walk of life you may come from:
"I wish I could make this story better. I wish I could tell you that life is perfect. Life isn't a dance on roses. Life gets tough. Life will come down on you without mercy, out of nowhere. Life doesn't care, it just happens. The only thing in your power is how you react to it. You can ball up in a corner feeling pity. You can give up and end it all. But you can also go down the other path saying, 'I won't let this break me.' Even how much it hurts, never let life break you."
In any epilogue where you chose Melissa and didn't cheat on her at any point after you two started dating, you have the scene where, after moving into your new home with her, she pours her heart out to you, culminating in her proposing to you. The scene is a heartfelt culmination of the growth of your relationship with her, and gives a warm feeling to any players who are particularly fans of hers.
This is doubly so in the actual wedding scene after the credits, where she is staring lovingly into your eyes as your marriage is officiated. She says "I do" without any hesitation; she's never been more sure of anything, of how safe and secure she feels being with you. The ultimate heart-tugger is the moment leading up to your "I do", where the officiator asks you the question and, before you say the words, you see each and every crucial moment in the development of your relationship with Melissa, starting from all the way back when you first defended her from Peter, going through the ups and downs, and finally ending with the present, with the glowing bride standing in front of you. You say the words, and it is done. It is legitimately one of the sweetest and most satisfying endings to a relationship arc, even for a game genre that prides itself on storytelling rather than action, mechanics, or combat.
