The King's Unbreakable Wife-Chapter 249: Picking sides (1)

"Why are you still by my side?" Tessa asked.

"How do you know that I am here when you are not looking over here?" Liam asked, moving to be by his mother’s side. frёeωebɳovel.com

Tessa tapped his hand after he tried to take one of the cookies she baked. "They are not for you. They are for Hazel. I will be visiting her in the palace soon."

"Why?" Liam questioned, not wanting his mother to step foot in the palace.

"Because her parents are out of town tending to Helena and the king must be busy with all those women that keep going missing. I am not her mother, but I hope my presence may help her feel that there is someone she can speak to. Don’t touch," Tessa tapped his hand again.

"Is that all or do you plan to warn her about grandfather? You mustn’t tell her yet," Liam said.

"I have thought about it and it is best that we tell her. What if she hears about it from someone else and does not trust us? She should know so she can protect herself from him," Tessa said, her need to tell Hazel growing as the days passed.

If Tessa was in Hazel’s shoes, she would want to know about someone close to her trying to get her husband to marry her friend.

"Just wait mother. Soon she will find out about it but the king has asked us not to reveal it. I don’t know much as he mostly informs father but it appears that there is something troubling Hazel so she can’t take bad news," Liam revealed.

"Oh dear. I can’t stop worrying about what they are doing to her in that palace. When I go into town, I still hear many speaking about her not having a child. That must be troubling her. I will make more cookies," Tessa decided.

Tessa didn’t see herself as the greatest baker she knew, but back when she had tried learning to make cookies for her children, Hazel used to enjoy them. Saying that a warm cookie made her feel better so Tessa hoped that the many cookies she was making could put Hazel in a better mood.

Liam snuck away a cookie from the table. "And what troubles you, mother?"

Liam knew that when his mother went crazy with baking, especially so early in the day, it was because something had upset her.

"Why do you always know what is wrong with me?" Tessa asked, smiling as Liam continued to be the son who always knew when something bothered her.

"It comes with being your favourite," said Liam.

"I don’t have favourites. I love all of you equally," Tessa answered.

"I will believe you so the others aren’t upset. Now, what troubles you? Grandfather?"

"I am worried about the war he will bring to this kingdom. What will happen to you and your siblings? I know that he is doing it because you spoke on my behalf, but I do not like him putting it out there that you are not his grandson. It is starting to be assumed that you are not your-"

"Mother, do not listen to what is going around. Grant has spoken many times of how I am a spitting image of my father. He cannot take that back now that I no longer respect him. I don’t care to be seen as his grandson," Liam said as he didn’t want to be attached to a traitor anyway.

Liam would love it if Grant would inform the town that he had cut ties with his family.

"You are- What is that noise?" Tessa asked, staying silent to hear it again. "Are the men training near our home again?"

"They shouldn’t be. Wait here," Liam said, leaving to see what caused the noise. "Father-"

Kenneth rushing by Liam without speaking was enough for Liam to know there was trouble. Liam followed his father to the front door and when he saw who was behind the noise, he wanted to find his sword.

"Watch your gaze boy,’ Grant warned Liam.

"Mother," Kenneth said, looking at his mother, who was unexpectedly visiting.

"Kenneth, must there be so much fighting?" Karen Henson asked.

"I told you that he has turned against me," Grant said, smiling smugly as he knew that his son couldn’t turn him away with Karen here. "Do you want your mother and me to leave?"

"She can stay but you must go," Kenneth answered. He had been trying to get her away from Grant.

"I will follow my husband," Karen said, holding Grant’s arm.

"Of course," Kenneth said, regretting that he even made the offer. His mother would not stop listening to his father. "Then you must both leave. You are not welcome here."

"Oh," Grant responded. "It is funny you say that when all you have is because of me."

"I rightfully inherited this home so you have no claims to it now. Leave before I find forceful means to remove you," Kenneth warned.

Karen couldn’t believe that Grant was right that Kenneth was being this way. "Son, you mustn’t treat family like this. We came all the way here to speak so we can end this tension. Linda was the one who asked for it. Let us sit and speak. Tessa!" She called Tessa who came to see the commotion.

Tessa couldn’t believe that Karen was in their home. She couldn’t remember the last time that Karen came to visit them. If not for Linda visiting Grant’s home, Tessa would have long believed that Karen had passed away and Grant was hiding it.

"Let me speak to your wife to try to find a way to end this. Your father wishes to speak to you," said Karen.

Karen had nothing more to say after receiving a look from Grant which was from her speaking too much. She stepped back a little to be behind him as he liked.

"You will not want to ignore what I have to say," said Grant.

The men on his side were getting restless waiting to hear whose side Kenneth would be on in the future. Time was quickly counting down to the moment when he would make his move and he either needed Kenneth right there beside him or Grant had to know if to get rid of Kenneth before then.

Kenneth would not get in the way of his plans. Losing a son would not matter to Grant as his grandchildren were the ones who mattered in all of this. Kenneth had lost his use.

"Kenneth, I would love to speak to your mother," Tessa announced, drawing closer to the group, but remaining far enough to not be near Grant. She was going to make herself useful by finding out what Karen knew.

Tessa didn’t believe that with how often Karen stayed at home, she knew nothing important about Grant’s plans.