He dips his head until their foreheads touch. "It's not that." At least not really. He had assumed that she was joking over and over, but not because he didn't listen or take her seriously. "It's just... You deserve someone who can give you everything you want." He doesn't just mean sex. "If only you'd met me at my prime. Gale of Waterdeep, Archmage, Chosen of Mystra, a wizard of exceptional power and renown. Why bother with a dimming shadow? Why marry someone who's dying?" He's never actually said it out loud before, but as terrible as it is, it's almost a relief, like finally realizing how a poem should end.