"We need to talk."

The severity of his tone frightened Topanga a little, but she held firm.

"Okay," she said.

"We need to talk in private. My room, Shawn's out," Cory said, grabbing her hand.

"Fine." Topanga followed him, bracing herself for another impassioned speech about love overcoming everything. You just don't know when to give up.

Once inside, Cory shut the door, sat down on the bed, and motioned for her to join him. She remained standing.

"Okay, let's talk," she said.

"You proposed to me, you bug me to set a date, you nag me about the details, then you have the gall to say it's off and you don't want to be with me anymore?" Cory stood up and glared at her. "That is not cool, Topanga. You don't put a guy through months of planning hell just to say it's off!"

"Cory, don't start."

"Well, it isn't! Either you give me back the time I lost running around picking a hall and setting a date and having nightmares about killing everyone, or we get married!" Cory said.

"I can't marry you, Cory," she said flatly.

"Why?! Just because your parents-"

"Yes, that's exactly why!" Topanga yelled. "If my parents aren't together anymore, I don't believe in love. I don't want to hurt you, so it has to be over between us."

"But-"

"Love doesn't exist," she said. Cory twitched, made a frustrated growling noise, and hit the wall with his fist.

"Oh, for-'our relationship has to be over, there's no love, we can't get married, my parents broke up so there's no such thing as love, boo hoo hoo' cry me a freakin' river!" he snapped. "Look, I'm sorry your parents got divorced, but ever since you came back you've been moaning and whining about how you wanna call off the wedding because there's no such thing as," he emphasized the last word with finger-quotes, "love."

Topanga jumped a little in surprise, then quickly turned to glare at him.

"And ever since I came back you haven't listened to a thing I said! All you've been talking about is getting married and love getting us through everything and how 'special' we are!" she shot back. "You're being completely insensitive!"

"And you're being selfish!" Cory yelled. "You act like you're the only person in the world whose parents ever got a divorce!"

"I know I'm not! But right now I'm feeling pounds of crushing angst and pain and you don't even care, you just want to get me over it so we can go back to our happy little fairy tale life of-HEY!" Topanga screamed as her hand was caught in a vice-like grip.

"Enough!" Cory growled, squeezing her hand tightly, his gaze burning into her. "Okay, so maybe I was a little insensitive-"

"A little?!"

"Okay, I'm a big fat jerk and I have no idea what you're going through right now, because my family is perfect!" Cory sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry my family is so perfect I can't relate to your crushing angst and pain." He let go of her fingers and slumped down on the bed. Topanga sighed, rubbing her hand.

"Cory..."

"No, you're right. Maybe I am living in a fairy tale thinking true love exists," Cory said. "Maybe I shouldn't have tried to drag you in there with me, I should've just let you stay in the real world with all that pain."

"Do you think I enjoy this?" Topanga asked. "Do you think I like feeling all this pain, knowing the one relationship I believed in my whole life is over?" She sank down on the bed. "Knowing the same thing could very well happen to us years down the line?"

"But we love each other," Cory protested. He tried to put an arm around her; she pulled away.

"Only in a fairy tale," she said, turning away from him.

"Topanga-"

"Please don't talk," she cut him off.

"How are we going to work this out if we don't talk?" Cory asked.

"Look...I want to be in that fairy tale with you, where love exists and people don't hurt each other. But how can I, knowing what the reality is?" she asked.

"Look at me," he said.

"Cory-"

He took her chin in his hand, forcing her to turn her head.

"We're not your parents, we're not my parents, we're not Shawn and Angela," he said. "We're us, and we've always believed in true love. We've always overcome the odds, and we always will overcome the odds. Because we believe. That, my dear, is reality."

"Then why do people hurt each other?" Topanga asked. "If love exists, why-"

"Weren't you listening? We're not your parents," Cory said.

Topanga sighed.

"Look...I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but the fact is, right now I just can't see this 'reality' you're trying to show me. Not when I feel this bad," she said. "I'm sorry, Cory."

Cory pulled back and turned his gaze to the floor.

"And...I'm sorry for being insensitive," he said quietly. "I still think you're being stubborn and selfish, but...there's nothing I can do about it, is there? Maybe Martin Luther King could change the world with a speech, but..."

"You tried, Cory." Topanga drew her knees to her chest and hugged herself. "And I do appreciate it."

Cory sighed.

"So that's it. It's...it's really over this time, isn't it."

She didn't answer.

"Well, that settles it, then." Cory stood up and went to open the door. "You can go now."

"I'm sorry, Cory." Topanga's eyes filled with tears as she stood up and began to walk out. "Goodbye."

The door clicked shut, and he was left staring at his engagement ring.

Only in a fairy tale.

Trying to reunite her parents hadn't worked. Trying to talk some sense into her himself hadn't.

Everything I believed is wrong.

He threw the ring onto the dresser and sat down hard on the bed. Tears burned his eyes and stubbornly refused to fall.

Why?

Outside, Topanga slumped against the wall, tears pouring down her cheeks. She didn't care who saw her.

I do love you, Cory...that's why. My tears would only ruin your fairy tale.