CHAPTER TWENTY: Daughter of the Damned21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5pL4jLgGs
(Her POV)
They didn’t plan a gender reveal.
No parties.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4TvvGHFxUW
No confetti.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfYXsFpOwd
No cute cakes with surprises inside.
Just them.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfqMOVpZTH
A small clinic.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5VG8LsUMx
A quiet monitor.
And a sound that would change everything.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor smiled.
Simple.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM2HAGUBsCe
Direct.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa48kYabc0N
Undeniable.
She looked at Matteo.
His face changed—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFL7ukLIY9P
Like a storm stopped mid-fury.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
Then he turned away.
Covered his mouth with his hand.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsurz6PyMBx
Shoulders trembling.
He cried.
“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I just…”
He knelt in front of her.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oGvK2pGfJ
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.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz8h9zEOS23
Again and again.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkSSdW28Wj
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.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNaPIhaI13y
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.”
