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Rick betrays Ilsa with the same reasoning she had used to betray him earlier in Paris at the train station – the greater Cause represented by Laszlo. In a supreme moment of romantic self-sacrifice and nobility while maintaining his dignity and self-esteem, he affirms his love for her – by urging her to leave Casablanca with her husband and the precious letters of transit that Renault is counter-signing:

Rick: If that plane leaves the ground and you’re not with him, you’ll regret it.

Ilsa: No.

Rick: Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life.

Ilsa: What about us?

Rick (romantically): We’ll always have Paris. We didn’t have – we’d – we’d lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.

Ilsa: When I said I would never leave you…

Rick: And you never will. I’ve got a job to do too. Where I’m going, you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do, you can’t be any part of.