If he was hoping for a point to work with, one that might've told him if Chloe was from before or after his last memory of being on earth, he would have been disappointed. The detective worked so bloody hard that he found it remarkable that she found time to be a good mother as well. However crime scenes were a dime a dozen for as long as he'd been working with her and Ella appeared regularly at all of them.
Seated on the bench, he angled his position to better look at Chloe, both of her hands in his. His right thumb brushed over the back of her hands. "Time moves differently in Hell than it does on Earth, Detective," he replied, the smile he gave her almost a little sad. "For every year on Earth, a century may have passed in Hell. I'm not exactly sure what the equivalent is. It's no use keeping time in Hell and because of that, there's nothing to measure against."
In truth he'd given up hope that he would ever be able to return to Earth in the way he had before, taking up permanent residence instead of quick visits above to escape the depressing existence of Hell. His time above had changed him, the people around him challenging him to become a better man, and in doing so he chose duty over his own personal happiness. Here in Vallo, without the existence of his Hell, that was no longer a choice he had to make. At least not that specific one.
"It was a choice I did not want to make but I had to. For you, for Trixie, for Charlie, for...for all of them. If they believed I'd truly abdicated the throne, they would keep coming and your lives would always be in danger. It was impossible to rule from Los Angeles, so I had to." Lucifer finally met her gaze. "I am so sorry, Chloe. Not for what I did as it was absolutely necessary but for the manner in which I did it. There was no better way to leave but I am sorry nonetheless."