CHAPTER TWENTY: Daughter of the Damned40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8oGX2LDvd
(Her POV)
They didn’t plan a gender reveal.
No parties.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mYTYWZXuP
No confetti.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSJbEeHrdF
No cute cakes with surprises inside.
Just them.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXeBsppb76
A small clinic.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡir2BVA8kRp
A quiet monitor.
And a sound that would change everything.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor smiled.
Simple.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyDTyj6noSY
Direct.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIE8x63et3w
Undeniable.
She looked at Matteo.
His face changed—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyT5skdIqvH
Like a storm stopped mid-fury.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
Then he turned away.
Covered his mouth with his hand.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwqnEzEQub
Shoulders trembling.
He cried.
“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I just…”
He knelt in front of her.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZU341LdOU
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.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCRtCmSnLY
Again and again.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9qDH9PaKO
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.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDvIxHI499
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.”
ns216.73.216.2da2“Because our daughter will be proof… that even the most broken men can build something holy.”
