[Who said anything about distant lovers?, he thinks. She assumes that he meant love in a very specific way, but Ardyn had once also felt love for his family, love for his people -- so much that he would've sacrificed his own spirit for their sakes. Just as moving, just as painful when it's twisted into something shaped like betrayal and misunderstanding.]

You're making assumptions. Lovers or otherwise, that was not the type of love that motivated me to do what I did.

[But this conversation has detailed into a strange territory, and Ardyn isn't sure he wants to entertain it for much longer.]

But none of that matters now.