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Of course.

I would like

to be a good writer.

And tell stories that mean

something to people.

But the only thing..

...I really want in this world..

...is to be the man

who walks beside you.

You do walk beside me.

Not just from 5 to 7.

It's not enough.

Not nearly.

Marry me, Arielle.

I wanna be your husband.

And stepfather to your children

and if you wish it

I want us to have

children together.

I am already married.

I know.

And that's why this is not

a conventional engagement ring.

That and the fact that

a conventional engagement ring

will require

a somewhat more

robust conquest

of the marketplace.

You know the situation.

I do.

You know the rules.

I do and I can

no longer play by them.

We had a trust

that you have now broken.

I know.

And I can't help it.

I've found the person

I wanna spend my life with.

That is a drive much stronger

than any set of rules

or any doubts about the meaning

and purpose of marriage.

Of course, if your... feelings

aren't as strong as mine

then... I completely understand.

They are.

You know that they are.

They are.

From the first moment.

You really think you're ready

to be a stepfather?

I know I am.

You will be growing up

in a very big hurry

skipping your young adulthood.

Frankly, it's overrated.

Regular adulthood

seems much better.

I'm 9 years

older than you.

I don't care.

When you're 34,

I will be 43.

Women are at their

most beautiful in their 40s.

Okay. That's true.

But 10 years after

that I'll be 53.

At which point I will believe that women

are at their most beautiful in their 50s.

Oh, and 10 years after that?

What are we doing, sums now?

No.

Do you believe that keeping

a marriage together

is always best

for the children?

If I believed that..

...I wouldn't be asking

you to do this.

But if you believe it,

then... you have to say no.

This is complicated.

This is very... very complicated.

It's not.

I mean, yes, it is.

Of course, it is,

but at the same time

it's very simple.

What are we willing

to do for love?

How did you know the size?

I described your hands

to the salesman.

Are you saying yes?

Meet me here tomorrow.

I'll bring a suitcase.

We will live here

for the first little while.

I will tell Valery tonight.

I will not be able to call you.

Just..

...be here... tomorrow.

At 5.

At 4.

At 4?

There are no rules anymore.

Yes?

It's Valery.

Let me in, please.

Apartment 3C.

Please come in.

Thank you.

Would you like something?

I have, um...

We had an understanding.

A clear, honorable

and tacitly acknowledged

set of boundaries.

I know.

I have welcomed you

into my family

under a certain aegis

and now you have betrayed

everyone involved.

I had no choice.

Are you certain

you know what you're doing?

Yes.

I'm sorry.

I meant no injury.

I know.

I'm sure that if the roles

had been reversed

I would've done the same.

See to her.

Mr. Bloom.

Yes?

Madam Pierpont

was here earlier.

She asked me

to give this to you.

I started working

when I was 11.

By 25, I could feel the end

of my career coming.

I thought, "What happens now?"

"What will be my life?"

I was terrified.

And so I made

an error of youth.

Some of the girls were lucky.

They had fallen in love,

but not me. Not once.

Even though I had been

all over the world

and I had met everyone.

That spring, I was introduced

to Valery.

He was then just as he is now.

Solid. Substantial.

And good.

"The salt of the Earth,"

as American like to say.

I felt a great affection

for him.

A great respect.

That is a kind of love.

I thought it was the only kind

I would ever know.

I didn't believe enough.

I didn't believe in love.

8 years later

I discovered that

I should have.

It has stunned me,

this new happiness

which came out of nowhere.

This secret door

that has opened in me.

I have never felt so alive..

...as when I am in your arms.

It is tempting, so tempting

to forget about everything

and just accept this gift.

But I cannot.

And not because I don't believe

that you would be a marvelous

stepfather to Marc and Elodie.

And a wonderful father

to the children

we might have had together.

Not because of lifestyle

or the difference in our ages

or the opinions of others.

When Valery and I married,

we wrote our own vows.

He has always kept his promise

and I feel I must keep mine.

But it's more

than a matter of honor.

One day, Brian,

when you have children

you'll understand that to leave

them is to leave yourself.

And to injure them,

unthinkable.

I told you,

I'm an old-fashioned girl.

Please do not try

to contact me.

It will not change anything.

I am so sad to say goodbye.

To be parted.

I can't believe it, really.

We had so many adventures

still ahead of us.

Maybe... if we had had more time

I would have found

something about you

I didn't like,

really couldn't stand

which would be very useful

right now.

But I doubt it.

They say that

no love is perfect.

But then, they never met you.

Arielle.

Let me help.

No, it's okay.

But if I may impose

for a favor?

Sir.

Please give this

to Madam Pierpont

when she comes

for lunch on Friday.

Certainly, sir.

Thank you.

I did as she asked.

I didn't try to contact her.

I stayed out of

her neighborhood.

I never returned

to the St. Regis.

If my route was

to take me near it

I would go a couple of blocks

out of my way.

Yes?

It's just me. Jane.

How is she?

I have no idea.

What do you mean?

I ended it with Valery.

Why?

Because there is a certain

sadness to it now.

Because being around him

and around her

feels like I'm betraying

my friendship with you.

You're not.

Not anymore.

And because..

...the future has a way

of arriving

whether you want it to or not.

Eat something.

Smoke less.

Call me.

We'll go to the movies.

Something from

a big American studio.

As little as you want

to write when you're happy

that's how much you have to

write when you're miserable.

Your passions

have to go somewhere

and this is

the only place left.

Your suffering has to be

good for something.

It's not for me to say if

the words were worth the price.

What are you doing?

Where are we going?

Just wait a minute.

Smile, you a**hole. Smile.

Come on. Come on,

we're celebrating.

Thousands of years ago

somebody came up with

the notion of impermanence.

Of the beauty

and inevitability of change.

I'm pretty sure

they had just been dumped.

I had a long time to consider

the value of memory.

And the idea that just because

something doesn't last forever

doesn't mean

its worth is diminished.

Maybe it was just

a rationalization.

Easier on the soul than

mourning what might have been.

A life unlived.

I honestly don't know.

But I chose

to believe in memory.

I chose to believe in her.

I chose to believe

that the bond was never broken

and that we carried each other

in our hearts.

As a secret singularity.

She made me a writer.

She made me a man.

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