It depends, although I surely hope that I'm the only one who will suffer (in case it does turn out to be a "bad ending"). This reminds me so much of the main character in the novel that I'm writing, who has no choice but to act, and she has to hide all of her true emotions to keep her role perfect. The ending of the story is very tragical, and I don't feel like posting it here. My situation is probably the same, however, it's a different kind of relationship.
Also, I don't trust a third-party person, and not that I believe counselors can actually resolve my situation either.
This is where you have to do the gamble. If you don't do the acting, you'll definitely suffer painfully. But if you do, you'll also be hurted, however, you can still have chance to protect the other one from the pain. BUT, if that "chance" is less than 0%, then BOTH will have to face the tragic (which is even more painful than without acting).
P/S: This is SO not about love, if that's what you're thinking.