THE SEAT NO ONE WAS ALLOWED TO TOUCH

Lunch break at St. Devonte’s was always chaotic — but not around Lorenzo Moretti’s table.

That corner of the cafeteria was its own kingdom.

Lorenzo sat there every day with his group:

Mateo, Rian, Zavian, and one girl — Elena, smart-mouthed, bold, the only girl who dared talk freely around the Morettis. She was like a sister to them.

Elena spotted Aria entering the cafeteria with her tray, looking around nervously, clearly not wanting to sit alone.

Elena’s eyes brightened.

“This way, sweetheart!” she called, waving her hand enthusiastically.

Aria blinked, surprised, then walked toward them with a shy smile.

Mateo whispered, “Bro, Elena never acts this sweet. Who is this girl?”

Rian replied, “I don’t know, but damn, she’s adorable.”

Aria reached them, and Elena instantly wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Guys, this is Aria! She’s new. She’s having lunch with us.”

Aria bowed her head politely, “Hi… I hope I’m not disturbing.”

Mateo grinned, “Disturbing? You’re the highlight of this grim table.”

Aria giggled softly — and Lorenzo, who was drinking water, paused for one second.

Because that laugh…

It landed too softly.

Too sweet.

Too close.

Elena looked around the table and realized something horrifying.

There was only one empty seat.

Right next to Lorenzo.

The One Spot.

The Forbidden Spot.

The Untouchable Territory.

No one ever sat there. Not even his friends. Not even by accident.

Lorenzo hated people entering his personal space, hated their scent touching him, hated their noise filling his quiet bubble.

Elena froze.

The boys froze.

Aria didn’t understand why they all stiffened like statues.

Elena whispered carefully,

“Uh… Aria… that seat is—”

Before she could finish, the impossible happened.

Lorenzo’s deep, low voice cut through the entire cafeteria:

“You can sit beside me.”

Silence.

Forks dropped.

Trays clattered.

One boy at a distant table literally choked on his juice.

Mateo’s jaw fell open so wide it should’ve hit the table.

Rian stared like he’d just witnessed the sun rising from the wrong side of the sky.

Even Elena slapped her own face lightly, wondering if she was hallucinating.

Everyone at the table stared at Lorenzo like he had grown a second head.

Aria blinked innocently, confused as ever.

She looked at him, then at Elena, then back at him.

“Are you… sure?” she asked softly.

Lorenzo didn’t look at anyone else. Only her.

“Sit.”

Not rude.

Not cold.

Just… firm.

As if he was making a decision no one else had the right to question.

Aria nodded nervously and slipped into the seat next to him.

And that’s when the cafeteria erupted into whispers.

Because beside Lorenzo, she looked impossibly tiny — like a little doe sitting next to a giant bear.

Her feet barely touched the floor.

Her head reached only his shoulder.

Her arm looked like a delicate feather next to his tattooed, muscled one.

Elena whispered to Mateo, “Oh my god… this is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Rian was biting back a laugh, “She looks like his baby brother’s toy sitting there.”

But Lorenzo’s eyes snapped to them, and instantly every boy shut up.

His gaze was sharp, dangerous, territorial.

And Elena noticed something no one else did.

Lorenzo wasn’t staring at Aria like people looked at someone cute.

He was staring like something inside him had just… clicked.

Like he’d found something that belonged to him.

Like he didn’t want anyone else to even breathe near her.

Aria, completely unaware, simply smiled at the group and started eating her food.

When she swung her little feet under the table, almost hitting Lorenzo’s long leg, the boys’ faces melted.

“She’s too adorable,” Mateo whispered.

Lorenzo heard it.

And he felt a strange heat in his chest — irritation? Jealousy?

He didn’t know.

All he knew was that he didn’t like the expressions on his friends’ faces.

Not one bit.

He didn’t want them finding her cute.

He didn’t want anyone looking at her for too long.

And that realization — that burning, possessive feeling — hit him harder than anything ever had.

Lorenzo Moretti, the cold king, the silent ruler…

Wanted to keep her close.

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