Well, Alastor guessed he at least knew where he stood -- which was precisely where he'd stood a week ago, in the wrong. It was beginning to look like a very familiar place.
He was so very tempted to simply nod and give in to her decision, to take the time he needed and then some to be sure of what he wanted and, maybe, sure of her, he began to think. But, he couldn't do that when she looked so miserable, even if he didn't know how to solve this. It wasn't enough to love her. He felt like he had to do so and act on it in the way she wanted, which wasn't how he was built.
"After what?" he asked, curious to know what exactly he'd done so wrong besides ask for time to think about what he wanted before he could contemplate what they might want.