Author's note: Chapter posted June 24th, 2023.
Ashley stayed at the Underground Sanctuary for the next three weeks.
During that time Druitt made a couple trips to her house in Toronto to fetch any items that she needed or wanted, most of them being extra clothing and toiletries. Since Druitt was not familiar with the layout of her house and how it was organized, after he would teleport he would use a smartphone to contact Ashley and they would facetime so she could guide him around, helping him locate items. Druitt's visits were always conducted while David was out of the house at work, making David none the wiser that his father-in-law was ever there.
This was a result of Ashley's strict policy that David not know about her former life working at the Sanctuary. It wasn't that Ashley didn't trust him to know about it or was ashamed of it, just that she herself wanted a separated normal life on the surface with as much of a clean slate as possible. Because of this, David was completely made intentionally unaware about the full scope and history of Ashley's background and that of her parents. Each and every meeting between David and her parents were always made on a casually normal and formal basis, where Helen and John appeared the standard of upper class British etiquette. Of what he knew, Helen was a medical doctor that also dealt on occasion with exotic animals and Druitt was a barrister, both of whom were from London. David himself had visited the London Sanctuary once before, however, he was restricted exclusively to the upper levels. From this perspective, the property was just a large manor representative of generational wealth. He also vaguely knew in general that Helen owned a few satellite properties, and that Ashley was currently staying at one in South America, because that's where her mother currently was.
One of the biggest secrets David didn't know about was Ashley and her parents shared longevity and their true ages. Ashley felt that it was a bridge that they would eventually get to as time went on when it became apparent at some point within the next ten to fifteen years of their relationship together, but felt no rush in disclosing it before necessary, especially considering how infrequent David interacted with her parents. However, considering that their marriage seemed to be crumbling, it was highly likely that David would never become aware anyway.
Ashley only stayed at the Underground Sanctuary for as long as she did as that was longest she could tolerate being in a subterranean setting; she needed to experience the outdoors for the sake of her mental health. Ever since she was a baby, she was always drawn to vast expansive skylines. Many times Helen used to carry her up to the top of the south tower of the Old City Sanctuary to calm her during fits of restlessness at bedtime; the twinkling light and breeze soothing her to peaceful sleep. Because this solution never failed to ease her child's distress, Helen became convinced that her own recurrent behavior of going to the parapet of the south tower for reflection long before and during her pregnancy with Ashley had imprinted onto her daughter, whether through nature, nurture, or a combination of both.
Another reason Ashley wanted to return when she did was that she needed to properly address the issues she had with her husband. Resulting from David's clear intentional lack of response to Ashley's attempts to communicate, Ashley only sent two more messages during the entire three additional weeks she added to her trip. The second to last message being sent during the next morning after breakfast informing him that she wasn't going to return for the majority of the month. The last message was sent three weeks later to inform him that she was returning, making sure that her arrival wasn't a surprise. For Ashley, the three weeks spent at the Underground Sanctuary wasn't her running away or trying to avoid the issue, it was instead a deliberate grace period Ashley took away from her husband, giving themselves some time apart to reassess. At least that's what Ashley hoped for.
As promised, Helen flew Ashley to Toronto. A bit unexpected, but welcomed, Helen also stayed with Ashley and her husband for the next three days, staying in the spare guest bedroom of their three bedroom house. Helen respected that it wasn't her place to interfere with their marriage and knew that her daughter was more than capable of fighting her own battles. During her time, Helen remained a passive observer. She could clearly sense that things weren't going well and that David was most definitely burning bridges with Ashley. She witnessed for herself Ashley repeatedly attempt to communicate and interact with him and David rebuff her every time with disinterest and complacency, brushing her off. Every time he responded that way, Helen could see that it not only stung Ashley, but also caused a mounting frustration to build within her.
On the end of the third day, after dinner David announced that he made the decision to move out and that he was currently searching for a new place to live, intending to be completely out within the next three months. Helen was in the living room, and could only stand in silence as she saw a shocked Ashley follow after her husband down the hallway, hearing elevated voices argue in one of the rooms, Ashley yelled out "David, wait!", then silence as David stormed out of the house, again with Ashley trailing in his wake. He slammed the front door behind him right in front of her; leaving his distraught wife as he got into his car and drove off to a friend's house to spend the night.
Ashley stood there staring at the closed door for a few seconds with her back towards her mother, running a hand through her hair and the other placed on her hip, breathing heavily. She was absolutely beside herself on the precipice of overwhelming emotions. She turned to look at her mother who was standing across the room before fleeing up the stairs to her bedroom to try to retain some composure.
As soon as Helen saw Ashley turn to face her and could see the devastating heartbreak displayed upon her face, she immediately followed after her daughter. While in the hallway, Helen could hear sobbing on the other side of the closed door. She lightly rapped her knuckles on the door to announce her presence.
Ashley stood and desperately tried to suck up her emotions, wiping her eyes. "Come in," she quickly replied as she sniffled.
Helen gently opened and reclosed the door as she entered, swiftly crossing the room and embracing her daughter in an enveloping hug; kissing the side of her head and holding strong as Ashley buckled under emotional weight and wept into her shoulder and crook of her neck. Helen then slowly eased them over to lay on top of the bed, where Ashley tucked herself into Helen's side as Helen consoled her. Foreseeing the remainder of the night being spent this way, Helen was thankful that her daughter and son-in-law kept separate rooms.
After about an hour of silent comfort, Helen laid with her arm above Ashley's shoulders, rhythmically toying with her daughter's hair as the side of her daughter's face pressed against her breast, her body acting as a pillow; the rise and fall of each steady breath grounding Ashley's emotions.
"How would you like to live with me in London for the next three months?" Helen offered. She knew that Ashley continuing to stay in this house with her husband still around wasn't conducive to promoting good mental health and she didn't want that strain to negatively impact the development of the baby.
"What?" Ashley wasn't sure she heard her mother correctly as she had been stewing in her thoughts.
Helen reiterated. "I want you to stay in London with me for the next few months."
Ashley was caught off-guard. "You want us both to live together in London? Are you serious?"
"I am," answered Helen. "I know you don't like staying at the Underground Sanctuary, so what about London? Henry and Erika would enjoy your presence, and I'm certain their girls would love having their aunt around for an extended period of time."
Ashley was surprised. "You're actually going to move back into the London Sanctuary?"
Helen nodded. "Yes. I gave you my word that I would be there for you and I intend to keep it. I want you to be around people who'll love and support you. You can return here once David has left. I don't want you to continue to be around him in the meantime as all that'll do is build resentment, and that's not healthy for you and the baby."
Ashley took a breath and sighed. "You're right," she solemnly agreed. Her house didn't feel like a home anymore; her husband's rejection making her feel more alienated now than she did while at the Underground Sanctuary surrounded by staff that she didn't know.
Early the next morning, Ashley and Helen spent some time gathering more of Ashley things. After Druitt quickly dropped in to teleport the items to her room at the London Sanctuary, mother and daughter departed the house for the airport; Ashley having left a note on the fridge to inform David that she'll be staying in London for the next three months and that he needs to follow through with his decision to have moved out by the time she returns. Ashley knew that David knew that she could threaten legal action against him if she were inclined to do so if he didn't as the house belonged to her and was in her name only. She owned it outright before they got married, and he simply moved in; Druitt having made sure their prenup agreement kept their individual assets separated in case of divorce, which included Ashley keeping her house. Considering that the house was paid off and he didn't contribute any finances towards utility bills or property taxes, any feeble claim he could try to make to stay longer would easily get squashed in a court battle, judgement landing in Ashley's favor as the time table of three months equates to a ninety day eviction notice.
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