CHAPTER TWENTY: Daughter of the Damned29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0BgveZTsn
(Her POV)
They didn’t plan a gender reveal.
No parties.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcTNEwmAas
No confetti.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTQWLd44Hf
No cute cakes with surprises inside.
Just them.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIcMGmpTzh
A small clinic.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhVJPKwNOX
A quiet monitor.
And a sound that would change everything.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor smiled.
Simple.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGoQ1SjteO
Direct.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtKLGffKRb
Undeniable.
She looked at Matteo.
His face changed—29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCyvnHjAvkj
Like a storm stopped mid-fury.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
Then he turned away.
Covered his mouth with his hand.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCR3XiTyerV
Shoulders trembling.
He cried.
“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I just…”
He knelt in front of her.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFTmstHzpM
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFQocTXcX3
Again and again.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6aVktKXxYj
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2SehRlKgg
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.”
ns216.73.217.11da2“Because our daughter will be proof… that even the most broken men can build something holy.”
