Chapter 128

"Tess, it seems we're not welcome here. Let's go." Stephen rose to his feet, causing the chair to scrape noisily across the ground beneath him. Tessa hadn't registered what was going on, but Stephen had already taken her hand. His voice was gentle when he said, "I'll take you out for a meal." Gratitude welled up in Tessa's heart. Stephen was directly opposing Rowena for her sake. On one hand, she was immensely grateful to him, but on the other hand, she couldn't help but worry. She didn't want to be the reason for Stephen's relationship with his family to turn strained. "Stephen!" Rowena shouted when she noticed that he planned to leave. "Enjoy your meal, Grandma. We won't be joining you for the rest of dinner," Stephen said as he held Tessa close to him. "I don't want Tess to feel upset." "Stephen…" Tessa called hesitantly. "How can you speak to your grandma that way, Stephen?" Caleb voiced out. Stephen's expression turned severe before he declared, "I'm going to make things cr