What a touching, intense chapter! Especially the last part. I have just got to quote it all.
"Don't... leave... me... Clark." she hiccupped in-between tears.
Clark closed his eyes. It was all he could do to keep on breathing. He'd felt pain before in his life, but this was the worst pain he'd ever known. There he stood with a woman in his arms, a woman who was desperately trying to hang on to him and who he desperately wanted to hang on to as well. He loved her so much, there weren't even words to express it, and now - against all odds - she was showing signs of actually wanting to be with him. The mere thought of leaving her behind hurt more than a thousand shards of kryptonite being thrust inside his body possibly could.
"Lois, stop. Please, please stop," he begged her, his voice cracking. He grabbed her hands behind his neck and gently brought them down to her sides.
"You have no idea how hard this is already," Clark continued. "Please, I'm begging you, don't make it impossible for me to go. Superman needs to leave and I can't be me without being him too. There is no other solution for now. Let me go, Lois. Please... I can't keep arguing with you over this. This is... it's... killing me." A lone teardrop fell from his left eye and traced a path down to his chin.
She looked up at him as if for the very last time. "Promise that you'll be back," she implored him, "Clark? Promise me that you'll come back."
"Oh, Lois, how I wish I could," he whispered.
Clark lowered his head slightly and captured her lips in a tender goodbye kiss. He took a step back and proceeded to exit the conference room. As he picked up the box he'd left on his desk, he took one last look at Lois and then he made his way to the elevator before disappearing behind its closing doors. The last sounds he heard coming from the newsroom were of Lois, crying... If he had listened closely enough he might also have heard his heart shattering into millions of pieces.
The angst... it's so good and so awful at the same time. I think exquisite agony sums it up quite well.
