CHAPTER TWENTY: Daughter of the Damned51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQALyqKkcw
(Her POV)
They didn’t plan a gender reveal.
No parties.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaweSvLJRLh
No confetti.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWZtkzpJna
No cute cakes with surprises inside.
Just them.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbztOMKk2lr
A small clinic.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxiF7rtDIeq
A quiet monitor.
And a sound that would change everything.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor smiled.
Simple.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflhF5DXsCQ
Direct.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5eFPgZKKk2
Undeniable.
She looked at Matteo.
His face changed—51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimlw4uXICK
Like a storm stopped mid-fury.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
Then he turned away.
Covered his mouth with his hand.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGStxXQqwkX
Shoulders trembling.
He cried.
“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I just…”
He knelt in front of her.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wRiPcazj7
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.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDfVQYUlDL
Again and again.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNiLGRNEt6Y
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.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniIjduw2mn
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.”
