"He said that people were assuming it." Alec couldn't be sure of that or not. He wasn't exactly adept at understanding social conventions outside of meetings and the power plays he had to referee for the Institute.

"I told him that I was gay so he wouldn't freak out if someone said anything." He'd been careful about that since he'd known some people wouldn't react well to the idea. Or to being around him since there were a few Shadowhunters that seemed to actually shy away from him now. "He didn't seem to mind." Which was why the sudden change in conversation had Alec at a loss.

"He said what I did was brave, but he sounded like Maryse or the Inquisitor when he said it." Taking a deep breath, he started on the colored polish, being careful to apply it perfectly. "I know what I did was right. I would have been miserable. So would Lydia." She hadn't deserved the embarrassment of having her groom leave her at the alter, but she deserved a chance to be with someone who could be a real husband for her. "Even when it's hard, I don't regret doing it."