Owned By The Devil's Heir

Enemy Territory

Chapter Six – Enemy Territory

By lunch, the whispers had turned into daggers.

I sat at the edge of the cafeteria, tray untouched. Laughter echoed around me, but none of it reached my table. Instead, I felt the weight of every glare, every smirk.

“She thinks she’s special because Damian sat beside her.”

“Pathetic.”

“He’ll chew her up and spit her out.”

I clenched my fists under the table, forcing myself not to react. Maybe if I ignored them, they’d get bored. Maybe—

A shadow fell across my tray. I looked up and froze.

Three girls stood over me, each more polished than the last. The leader, a brunette with eyes like sharpened glass, tilted her head. “Isabella Rossi, right?”

“Stepdaughter,” one of the others corrected with a sneer. “Don’t forget the step.”

My throat tightened. “Can I help you?”

“You can help yourself by staying away from Damian.” The brunette leaned closer, her perfume suffocating. “He’s not for you. He’s not for anyone. But if he must look at someone, it won’t be you.”

My lips parted, but I couldn’t find the words.

Then, before I could respond, a hush rippled through the room.

Damian.

He strode in like a storm, his presence swallowing the cafeteria whole. His eyes scanned the room—and landed on me.

The girls stiffened, their confidence faltering, but the brunette forced a smile. “Damian, we were just—”

“Leaving.” His voice was ice.

The word cut sharper than any blade. Without another glance, he crossed the room, towering over me. My pulse thundered.

He took my tray, set it aside, and slid into the seat across from me. Every eye followed his movements.

“You’re trembling,” he said softly, his gaze locking with mine.

“I—” I couldn’t finish. My hands shook around the edges of the table.

His jaw tightened. “They touched you?”

“No,” I whispered quickly. “They just… warned me.”

His smile was lethal, a promise of violence. “Good. Because if they had, there wouldn’t be enough left of them to whisper again.”

My breath caught. He said it so calmly, so certainly, as though he truly meant it.

Around us, the cafeteria buzzed with tension, every student watching, waiting. Some with envy, some with fear.

And me? I was caught in the crossfire.

I should have hated him for putting me in this position. But the terrifying truth was… part of me felt safer with him there, even as the world around me turned against me.