Lahat ng Kabanata ng Owned By My Stepdad(MxM): Kabanata 141 - Kabanata 150

Walking through the school gates felt strange.Too familiar and too different at the same time. Like everything looked the same, but I wasn’t. Or maybe it was the other way around.People noticed us immediately.“Hey, man.”“Elias!”“Bella!”Voices came from different directions as we walked in, some casual, some curious, some clearly just trying to get a better look. I nodded, greeted a few back, kept moving like nothing was off even though I could feel the attention sticking to us.Bella stayed close beside me.“Back to school,” she muttered under her breath.I glanced at her and gave a small nod. “Yeah. Back to the madness.”She huffed lightly, then straightened a bit like she was putting on her usual confidence again. I knew that look. She was bracing herself.We moved further into campus, past familiar buildings, familiar faces, everything hitting in pieces. It felt like stepping back into a life that had paused without me.“By the way,” Bella said, lowering her voice slightly, “

Bella didn’t wait.The moment she saw Lisa, she moved.I knew that look on her face. Determined, a little nervous underneath, but trying to act like she had everything under control. She walked straight across the courtyard, her steps steady, her eyes locked on Lisa like nothing else existed.For a second, I thought maybe it would work.Maybe Lisa would stay.Maybe they’d talk.Fix whatever had been broken.But Lisa saw her coming.And she walked away.Just like that.No hesitation. No pause. Not even a glance back.Bella stopped.Right there in the middle of the courtyard.I watched the moment hit her.It was small, but it was there. The way her shoulders dropped just slightly, the way her expression faltered before she quickly tried to pull it back together.“Okay…” she muttered under her breath. “That was harsh.”She tried to laugh it off

Bella didn’t stop walking.Not once.Not when we passed groups of students who glanced at her a little too long, not when someone called her name from across the courtyard, not even when we reached the quieter side of campus where everything felt a little more distant.I followed her the whole way.Silent.Because I knew better than to say anything too soon.Her steps were fast at first, like she was trying to outrun what just happened. Then they slowed. Not because she wanted to, but because the weight of it caught up with her.By the time we reached the far end of the field, she stopped.Just like that.I stopped a few steps behind her.For a moment, she didn’t turn.Didn’t move.Didn’t say anything.The wind picked up slightly, brushing past us, quiet but enough to fill the space where words should have been.“She hates me.”Her voice was low.And that was what made it worse.I walked closer, stopping beside her. “She doesn’t hate you.”Bella let out a small, humorless laugh. “You

Bella flopped back onto the couch with a groan. “I’m not doing this,” she said, staring up at the ceiling. “A bodyguard? Seriously? What is this, a movie?”I leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “He wasn’t joking.”“I know,” she muttered. “That’s the problem.”For a moment, neither of us said anything. The weight of it sat there, heavy and annoying and impossible to ignore.Then Bella sat up suddenly. “I’m going out.”“Bella—”“I’m not asking,” she said, already reaching for her shoes. “I need air, and I need to prove a point.”“That’s a terrible reason to go outside,” I replied.“Exactly,” she said. “So it’s perfect.”I pushed off the wall. “If you’re trying to make him lose his mind, it’s working already.”“Good,” she said, slipping her shoes on. “Let him.”She headed for the door. I followed.The hallway was quiet when we stepped out, but the feeling was there immediately. That subtle awareness of someone else nearby.“Okay,” Bella said under her breath, looking left, then right.

Class felt unreal.Not because I hadn’t been here before, but because everything that used to feel normal now felt… off. Like I was sitting in a place I recognized, surrounded by people I knew, but none of it fit the same way anymore.Bella sat beside me, her notebook open but untouched. She kept tapping her pen against the desk, not in her usual careless rhythm, but slower, distracted. Every now and then, her eyes flicked toward the door like she expected someone to walk in.I couldn’t blame her.I felt it too.The awareness.That we weren’t just students anymore.The lecturer’s voice droned on at the front of the class, something about coursework and deadlines, but I wasn’t really listening. My mind kept drifting back to earlier.They would have taken you.The words wouldn’t leave.“Elias.”Bella’s voice was low.I glanced at her. “Yeah?”“Do you see him?”I knew who she meant.I didn’t turn immediately. Instead, I shifted slightly in my seat, letting my eyes scan the room casually.