CHAPTER TWENTY: Daughter of the Damned47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEjYv4NVpE
(Her POV)
They didn’t plan a gender reveal.
No parties.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkGoOUt74b
No confetti.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvHPhJtPVA
No cute cakes with surprises inside.
Just them.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjkzLXoZhAP
A small clinic.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2bBcGqGQi
A quiet monitor.
And a sound that would change everything.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor smiled.
Simple.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4DwymA1Lbn
Direct.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQbv5c50HRF
Undeniable.
She looked at Matteo.
His face changed—47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3rDOyt9tbs
Like a storm stopped mid-fury.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
Then he turned away.
Covered his mouth with his hand.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEXUPaHUzZ
Shoulders trembling.
He cried.
“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I just…”
He knelt in front of her.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhjpcM06Ji
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.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OYkFfzpWz
Again and again.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5qNbOg57Z
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.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBpAZlNvBQ
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.”
ns216.73.216.247da2“Because our daughter will be proof… that even the most broken men can build something holy.”
