I think this all starts going wrong by assuming any of this narrative progression makes any sense so there is no point trying to find a hidden reunion meeting in this. At this point just take everything at face value, KA is willing to sink character whenever and wherever for any contrived reason
Nothing that has happened in the past few chapters makes any sort of sense. I mean, of you really wanna hear it? Yeah. This is something that COULD happen, but has an overwhelmingly high chance of NEVER HAPPENING.
The narrative is non-existent.
Progression is like me putting in "a few months pass" into some character.ai chatbot to make it spew out bullshit.
The characters have lost all relatability and connection. Hell, they don't even know what they're doing.
The author has successfully deconstructed everything this story held, and now she's trying to light it on fire for the sake of going out with a bang.