Ashley hadn’t been gone as long as Darcy had expected by the time he heard the door clock open again. He’d cleared away their breakfast things, and he was halfway through getting dressed when she returned. He stepped out of the bedroom and into the living room, his smile instantly disappearing as he saw her face. What on Earth could have happened in the last twenty minutes or so to cause such a change in her?
He roughly tucked his shirt in, frowning all the while. She couldn’t... do what anymore? Maybe she meant nursing, or... he didn’t dare think that she could mean their entire relationship. Wouldn’t allow himself to think that it was so fragile that her mind could changed on that front easily. He glanced at the sheet of paper, and then she really started crying.
“Ashley... what is it, what has happened?” he asked of her, and then moved to her, wrapping her into a hug and rubbing at her back in the most comforting way he could manage.