"This isn't working out," Ryan said, partially to Marissa, the beautiful woman he was married to, and partially to himself. She sat on the sofa in the corner, her eyes not meeting his—not daring to—but instead watching their two young daughters playing on the floor, oblivious to their parents' struggles.

"I know," she whispered, in a voice that was strong yet quieter than a whisper. Finally Marissa looked up, gazed into his eyes. He sat on the edge of the bed, analyzing her movements.

"Are we…over?" Ryan asked hesitantly, unsure of her reaction, unsure of his own. They had come so far, done so much. He didn't know how it could be over with just a goodbye.

"We've been over for a long time," Marissa reminded him gently. He nodded in admission. He knew it, too.

"What about the girls?" Ryan asked. Their little girls, twins, were playing together happily. Both had the perfect golden blond hair; the perfect big blue eyes. They were the perfect combination of Ryan and Marissa. They were close to a year old. Elly and Haley. They were perfect.

"I'll take them…" Marissa trailed off, eyes glistening with the beginnings of salty tears.

"No. They're as much mine as yours," Ryan said firmly. "You can't do that."

"Well, you're not taking them either," she told him defensively.

"I can take them one week, and then we'll switch off?" Ryan suggested dubiously. She looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

"I'm not staying in New York," Marissa reminded him, softly. "I'm going to go to LA, you know." She already spent most of her time there, modeling and acting. Her fame was growing. They knew that Marissa was set to be the next celebrity. It was probably one of the reasons they were doing what they were doing. Splitting up.

"Then we can't send them back and forth. With school, and…"

"We'll have to split them up," Marissa said quietly, affirming their fears.

"They can never know," Ryan told her, running his hand through his sandy blond hair in anxiety and frustration. "There can never be any contact. They'd hate us; hate what we did."

"Not a word, then," she agreed. "They won't know about having a twin, or another parent…"

"Okay," Ryan nodded.

"I'll take Elly?" She asked, looking at him almost for permission. But no permission needed to be given. It was already obvious that Elly was going to be a mini-Marissa. Already, she was the drama queen, and Marissa's favorite.

"And I'll take Haley," Ryan nodded. Haley was quieter, more reserved—she was more of Ryan. His favorite. Though both loved each of their daughters more than anything else in their lives.

"Alright," Marissa said. She lifted Haley up. "This is the last time we'll see each other. But remember, Hales, that your mommy loves you very, very much. Good luck. Bye, sweetie." She kissed Haley's smooth, perfect cheek. She had to say goodbye to her daughter. It pierced her heart.

Ryan did the same with Elly. "Be good to your mom, and remember that your dad loves you more than you'll ever know, and hopes that you'll do well out there. Goodbye, Elly." He kissed her, and he and Marissa switched the girls back.

"We'll walk you to the door," Ryan said, as he carried Haley out, following Marissa and Elly. They walked silently through the expansive penthouse that Ryan had built. His architectural firm was doing well; their buildings won awards—and more than enough money—routinely. The Atwood family was extremely wealthy.

"I guess this is it," Marissa whispered, as she placed her hand on the doorknob. But she couldn't bring herself to open it. Her hand shook.

"Here," Ryan said caringly. He put his hand over hers, helping her open the door. He could still stop her from shaking, stop her from being afraid, but the sparks weren't there anymore. There was no electricity coming from their touch.

"Goodbye, Ryan," She whispered, as she turned to allow their blue eyes to connect for the last time. She cracked a small smile and laughed lightly, "Ry."

"Bye, Riss," He said. She began to walk away from the door, away from her daughter, away from the one man she'd ever truly loved.

Ryan watched as she and Elly turned the corner in the hallway and disappeared forever. He couldn't watch them go.

"Wait!" He screamed. He flung the door open wildly, readjusting Haley on his side, and ran after them. He stuck his arm in the path of the closing elevator door. "Wait, Marissa, wait! We can work this out! We can figure everything out again…we can learn…"

"Learn how to be a couple again?" She whispered, but in Ryan's ears her words rung icily, stabbing him. "Ryan, there's nothing left."

"If you want to stay here, figuring things out…" he began, but she shook her head, no.

"We're going to LA," Marissa said. "I'll miss you, Ryan. I'll cherish these years…these ten years, since we met, in that driveway—I'll cherish these years forever."

"I'll never forget," He smiled nostalgically. The words bubbled, tingled in her throat. She couldn't leave without saying them one last time.

"Who are you?" She said, in that same lilting tone that she still had.

His eyes bore the remnants of a twinkle that she hadn't seen in a long time. Too long. "Whoever you want me to be."

The elevator began to beep repeatedly, signaling that the door was about to close. Before he could figure out what he was doing, Ryan put his lips to hers and kissed her.

She was taken by surprise, but didn't pull back. They were lost in the moment, lost in the kiss, but they were not lost in love or lust. There was no more love or lust, and they knew it. They were not Ryan and Marissa any longer. The spark was gone.

Ryan pulled away and watched the door begin to close slowly, watched the image of his first love and his daughter slowly disappear.

"El-lee," Haley said, as soon as they were really, truly gone. Her very first word. Marissa would never know. Neither would Elly.

"Hay-lee," Elly said, when the downward motion of the elevator had begun and they were really leaving. Marissa's heart broke. Ryan and Haley would never know.

Ryan stood, Haley in his arms, staring at the closed elevator door, for almost an hour, waiting for it to be nothing, waiting for Marissa and Elly to show up again, crying, begging forgiveness. Waiting for them to return, for them to be a family again.

But they weren't a family anymore. It was really, truly, over.

And that was that.