He didn't have the guts to look at her. Michael didn't like to expose his inner thoughts and feelings, believing that it was a weakness he could not afford most of the time. Only when he was with Terry that he allowed himself to be really himself.
"You can ask, yes." He almost told her it didn't mean he'd answer but in the end he knew that if he didn't tell anyone, then it was a matter of time before someone asked where his wife was. "She's gone." It was all he could say without feeling tears well up in his eyes pathetically.