CHAPTER TWENTY: Daughter of the Damned50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QUrfGYBGa
(Her POV)
They didn’t plan a gender reveal.
No parties.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoiNVLE129n
No confetti.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7rggLInlP
No cute cakes with surprises inside.
Just them.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwj0E20LMIr
A small clinic.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUaOzBaqlLU
A quiet monitor.
And a sound that would change everything.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor smiled.
Simple.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9j9padDJSk
Direct.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHo6GBtUfC9
Undeniable.
She looked at Matteo.
His face changed—50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nAOC8rMt0
Like a storm stopped mid-fury.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
Then he turned away.
Covered his mouth with his hand.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PRY2SlJXD
Shoulders trembling.
He cried.
“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I just…”
He knelt in front of her.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9Ka1nu76Q
Pressed his forehead to her belly again.
“I don’t know how to protect something so small… so innocent… when I used to destroy everything I touched.”
“You won’t destroy her,” she whispered.
“How can you be sure?”
“Because you made her out of love. Not lust. Not violence. Not shame.”
He didn’t say anything.
But he kissed her belly.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1iUnEJCrOo
Again and again.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIG6Qejg2V
Like a sinner begging a new god for mercy.
That night, in the motel, they finally chose her name.
No drama.
Just soft sheets, tired hands, and a notebook.
She suggested names.
He listened.
Then suddenly, he said:
“Arielle.”
“Like the angel?”
“Like the vengeance I survived for. Like the heaven I didn’t believe I deserved until I met you.”
She wrote it down.
Arielle.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZdyGMy4wX
Their little avenger.
Matteo held her from behind.
His hand on her belly.
“She’s gonna have your eyes.”
“And your temper.”
“God help the world.”
They laughed.
Then fell asleep with their fingers interlocked over her stomach.
That was the night he whispered:
“No one will ever call you 'damned' again.”
ns216.73.216.238da2“Because our daughter will be proof… that even the most broken men can build something holy.”
