I expected Ashton to brush the question off with a polite smile and redirect the conversation the way he always did when anything personal got too close to the surface. Instead, he answered without hesitation. "We've been married for a few years."
The elevator went quiet. I could feel every pair of eyes swing toward me at once, the shift in the air immediate and unanimous.
I opened my mouth and closed it again. There was nothing useful to say, and I knew it. I settled for a smile that I hoped looked more natural than it felt.
The employees recovered quickly and started asking questions, how we met, how long we had been together, how we had ended up married. I stood there fielding their curiosity while silently willing the elevator to move faster, the numbers above the doors ticking upward with what felt like deliberate slowness.
