"Come on, Thalia," Miguel pleads, his hand reaching for hers. She flinches, pulling away and crossing her arms, dissent plastered on her face.

"Don't feed me that line about doing this for me," she groans as she buries her face in her clammy palms.

"But it is," he says in a hushed tone. Why willingly put himself in a situation where being away from Thalia feels like a punch to the gut? He's not a masochist.

Miguel's not playing the sympathy card here. He wants Thalia to pick him only if she's 100% certain she won't look back and wonder what could've been. But he's also crossing his fingers that Thalia stops putting up a fight before he flips the script, puts his ego on the back burner, and embraces the role of the backup plan while clutching onto her like his life depends on it. Will that be the smarter move for him?

How will that make her feel? What if she resents him?

Crap. He's going in circles.

"Liar."

Miguel's frustration bubbles up. "What am I supposed to do? Hang around, hoping you'll see that I'm worth sacrificing your opportunities for? Should I shower you with praise or worship the ground you walk on to have a chance? To be the one you pick?" He runs a hand through his hair, letting out a deep sigh. "It's not fair. I just want to make things easier for you. I've seen you unhappy and mistreated. If there's an escape route, and you want to take it, who am I to stand in your way?"

He lowers his head, muttering with a hint of resignation, "I'm just your fake fiancé."

"You know you're not just that," Thalia rebuts. "That's not true."

"Maybe, yeah, I suppose," Miguel concedes, but hurt still seeps into his voice. "I'm sorry I eavesdropped. But if I didn't hear it, when would you have told me? The day you take off?"

She is blindsided by the question, causing her to squirm in shame. She hasn't thought that far ahead; she hasn't come up with a plan.

"I can't... I can't decide just like that," she admits guiltily, snapping her fingers. "Look, it's complicated, alright? I'm not expecting you to sweep me off my feet or oppose whatever's dragging me back home. But it's not that simple."

The fact that Thalia hasn't made up her mind at that exact moment gives Miguel a tiny spark of hope. It means she's at least considering him. Yet, the looming uncertainty, the chance that she might push him aside, starts to eat at him. Thalia hasn't even told him she loves him, or even, likes him, leaving Miguel with nothing to grasp onto.

Dang it. Why did he confess his feelings without the assurance that she would hear him? He should've stated it clearly so he could listen to her response. Now, it feels a tad too late, awkward, and maybe a bit desperate.

Most importantly, it's her family and future pitted against him – someone she's only been with for five months. Who is he kidding?

Steph's right. The duration of their relationship isn't enough to make history.

"I know it's not," Miguel acknowledges, his tone dropping.

Thalia understands it's a bit of a stretch, but she has to put it out there. "Can't you stay with me until then?" she murmurs. "Or is that asking for too much?"

Miguel lifts his head. "Once more, how long are we talking here? Until you leave?"

"I have about two weeks..." Thalia squeezes her eyes shut and rises to her feet, pacing towards the window pane. "I said I'm not sure yet."

"But you will be."

She spins to look at Miguel, her heart plummeting to even lower depths. "Why are you convinced that I'll leave you?"

Miguel smiles ruefully, motions to her, and pleads with a tinge of sadness. "I don't want false hopes, Thalia."

Thalia manages to keep her tears at bay, lowering her gaze to her feet. She recognizes the slippers he had bought to make her feel warm and at home, and the agony escalates.

But she understands where Miguel is coming from. She can't force him to accept being strung along while she has one foot out the door.

"Okay," she replies calmly, drying her misty eyes with her wrist. This isn't going anywhere. She's been wrestling with this crossroad that can potentially change her life forever, and Miguel pushing her away isn't making it any easier.

Does he really not care at all?

"Okay?"

"You're the only reason why I'd consider staying, Miguel. But since you've done your very best to persuade me to go home..." She raises a finger to halt any interruption, then adds with determination, "We at least have to plan how to announce our breakup."

A few months ago, Thalia and Miguel had faced each other, the latter jotting down notes of their arrangement. This time is about the same scenario, except for the purpose and content of their conversation: the dissolution of their fake relationship.

Moreover, the atmosphere is much more somber and stifling, their movements strained. Eye contact becomes almost unbearable, yet neither dares to look away, as if apprehensive that their time together is rapidly coming to an end.

"The biggest concern is my parents. You've seen how they reacted," Miguel says bitterly. "But don't worry. I can handle it."

Thalia lets out a sigh, considering how everything will impact Miguel's parents. They've been incredibly gracious to her, perhaps even overly it makes her feel a bit inadequate. "Do we give them hints, or do we just drop the bomb all at once?"

"How about we just show signs of things falling apart? That way, no one jumps to conclusions. It just didn't work out. Then you can... go quietly."

Thalia fidgets at the mention of her departure. Again.

Because her heart isn't entirely sold on the idea, not in this way. And even though Miguel isn't doing a stellar job of building his case, he's not the one in charge. Thalia, a bit exasperated with the lack of control, only opts to go with the flow.

She'll navigate each step by herself, hoping that by the due date, she can make up her mind about her next move.

If she decides to stay, she dares hope it wouldn't be too late. Otherwise, she might just have to resort to seduction tactics.

She holds back a mental cringe. Seriously, why can't she just pick the other side? Maybe she should dig up all the biases she had held against him before. Bring back all the bad stuff. Remember why she couldn't stand him.

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None of it is coming back to her.

"Thalia?"

She snaps back to reality and quickly suggests, "Then don't bother picking me up. That would be best."

He cocks his head sideways. "Wouldn't they assume I'm just busy?"

"Fine, then. Come, and we'll act cold to each other. That works for you?"

"Yeah. That wouldn't be hard," he mutters. "You used to be cold to me."

"So were you."

He raises an eyebrow. "I wasn't."

"Sure. You simply ignored me," she quips, taking a sip of her water. "My bad. This is all on me. If that night hadn't happened, none of this would have happened. I'm sorry for wasting your time."

"Thalia, it's not a waste of time—"

Thalia interjects, exhausted from the back-and-forth. "It's alright. Let's move on. What about the trip?"

"Unfortunately, we have to go. The staff and my parents are looking forward to it. And I've booked everything."

As these words spill out, Miguel unconsciously fumbles with the ring in his pocket. His lungs cinch, making it difficult to breathe properly. He should find some time to return it. Maybe tomorrow.

Or once Thalia is gone. Because she will be.

Miguel has 60 days to return the ring. That should be sufficient. It will be the final blow, extinguishing any flicker of hope to protect himself.

Damn. Dealing with Steph was a breeze compared to this. Heartbreak, sure, but not a lot of tears were shed. It stung when she appeared to have moved on, mostly for his ego's sake. With Thalia, though, it's a whole different ball game. It's taking all his strength not to crumble in front of her, and it requires a ton of mental acrobatics, mostly questions of 'Should he or should he not'?

"Okie dokie," she says. "But how do we navigate that? I don't want to make things awkward for them. Nobody's going to have fun."

"We can be civil. We can drop the signs and dodge anything related to the wedding," Miguel proposes.

Thalia smiles wryly. "I'm already tired thinking about it. But we have no choice, do we?"

It should be me, Miguel thinks, but he shoos the idea away immediately. He needs to shake these thoughts off his system before he reaches a breaking point.

"We don't."

******

"That was a success," Thalia notes as they walk over to the parking spot, like any other end of the workday. "Linda asked if there's trouble in paradise. Obviously wanted the juicy details."

With pursed lips, Miguel probes, "And what did you tell her?"

"A fake smile and a change of subject," she replies, then halts mid-step, scanning the street.

"What's up?"

"I'm good here," she mutters, taking her Arc Card out. "I'll take the bus. This card has loads of funds that I need to use."

Miguel sighs, "Thalia, I can drop you off."

"What's the point?" she contests. "This is the plan, your brainchild. The grand breakup scheme."

Miguel clicks his tongue in frustration. "I'm right here—"

"We have to do it properly," Thalia insists, reluctant to be alone with Miguel any longer. The proximity will cloud her judgment. She had drafted a list of pros and cons the night before, and itemizing the steamy benefits of being with him almost became a dealbreaker.

Plus, it demands too much effort to hold her tears back.

A clear mind is what she needs for another night of debating with herself. Time is of the essence. She aims to make a decision before the trip and put an end to this ongoing misery. For her sake and Miguel's.

Meanwhile, Miguel gives up the fight only because she's right; it will only make sense for something to change.

He swears privately. This whole thing is already a bummer. It's not as fun as pretending to be a couple.

Well, sort of. From the beginning, none of it has felt fake to Miguel. He's always treated Thalia with the care reserved for someone he treasures.

"See you," she mutters, heading towards the bus stop, similar to the days when she used to turn him away.

"Okay," Miguel mumbles meekly. The dissonant melody of a breaking heart reverberates through him as he watches Thalia slip away from his grasp.

But isn't this what he's asked for? He's got no one to point fingers at but himself.

******

A/N: Thalia is struggling to decide between two choices, as either can steer her life to irrevocable paths. Do you think Miguel is doing the right thing? Setting her free?

Thanks so much for reading! We are getting closer to the end!