CHAPTER TWENTY: Daughter of the Damned22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXtqSc54GE
(Her POV)
They didn’t plan a gender reveal.
No parties.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC6IaPI6pwO
No confetti.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfps2nw6DLw
No cute cakes with surprises inside.
Just them.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOgir2HgA5
A small clinic.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wAPe5rlU8
A quiet monitor.
And a sound that would change everything.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor smiled.
Simple.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNF8i2glRUI
Direct.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6h6Mwf8Tta
Undeniable.
She looked at Matteo.
His face changed—22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqEsQ1jBqx
Like a storm stopped mid-fury.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
Then he turned away.
Covered his mouth with his hand.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XdRZX7ios
Shoulders trembling.
He cried.
“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I just…”
He knelt in front of her.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcolxznDU6
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.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUEtONQXik
Again and again.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9yeGPbomsF
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.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwL9KSJZyiL
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.”
ns216.73.216.239da2“Because our daughter will be proof… that even the most broken men can build something holy.”
