Page 220 of Unravelling The Beast

“I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Phillip.”

He smiles at her as he speaks softly.

“I am your husband, and if I have to convince someone that I am Ghost in order to protect my family, so be it.”

Icarry Cree downstairs on my hip, a big smile on my face, until he looks up at me and speaks, his face sad.

“I haven’t seen grandma in a very long time.”

When I observe his sad expression, my face sinks. As we reach the bottom step, I sigh and look forward, and when he speaks again, I look at him.

“Could you please take me to see her today, Wren?”

I really don’t know what to say, and I feel stuck. All I know is that Arlo isn’t too happy with his mother right now, and I’m still not sure why.

I give him a small smile as I respond.

“Maybe I can ask Daddy for you.”

Before I lower him to his feet, his eyes light up, and he looks up at me with a wide smile on his face.

“You’ll do that?”

As I stroke his curly hair, my eyes soften.

“Sure.”

He shines with joy, and I offer him my hand for him to take, which he does, and we go together to the kitchen, where I know Arlo is.

As we approach the living room, I see Arlo sitting at the kitchen island, sipping his coffee and looking down at his phone in his other hand.

He has a black leather jacket on, black, ripped, tight jeans and a black snapback turned backward on his head.

I carefully pull my eyes away from him and look down at Cree before crouching down in front of him.

“Why don’t I turn something on the TV for you while I speak to Daddy?”

We both look over at Arlo, who is now looking between us both, and then I drag my eyes away from him once again and look at Cree again, offering him a little smile.

“Go on, get up on the couch, and I’ll put Paw Patrol on for you.”

He smiles at me before turning around and climbing up on the big white couch, leaving me to find the remote and scroll through the channels until I find Paw Patrol.

After that, I set the remote on the coffee table before heading to the kitchen to confront Arlo. As I proceed towards him, he keeps his focused, intense stare on me, raking down my body until I’m standing beside him, resting my forearms on the island, and looking deep into his dark eyes.

He takes in all of my facial features, waiting for me to say what I have to say, as if he already knows.

“Cree really wants to see his grandma today.”

He sighs instantly and looks away, setting his coffee cup down on the gray marble island, and I continue.

“Arlo, why hasn’t he seen her? He hasn’t seen her in weeks now, and he used to see her every weekend; he’s probably missing her.”

He stays silent and I stare at his side profile as he looks down at the dark liquid in his mug until he responds.

“I don’t trust her.”

My brows furrow with confusion.