He missed you.

Ever since you left him with your children, there had never been a day in his life when he did not think of you. Of you and your gorgeous smile, your lips, your eyes, everything about you he remembered as clear as day even without the use of magic.

It's not an exaggeration of his to say that he missed you like a man thirsty for rain in the desert so when you returned, he swore to be selfish, to keep you with him... until death forces you to take your separate ways.