CHAPTER TWENTY: Daughter of the Damned27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYel7OLRCt
(Her POV)
They didn’t plan a gender reveal.
No parties.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMqKoMBnIN
No confetti.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6WLzvDdeO
No cute cakes with surprises inside.
Just them.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbzAtY44mN
A small clinic.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0mWJmXJBt
A quiet monitor.
And a sound that would change everything.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor smiled.
Simple.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVnhKbAuOc
Direct.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdf2OVO4UDm
Undeniable.
She looked at Matteo.
His face changed—27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPshRvyLlC
Like a storm stopped mid-fury.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
Then he turned away.
Covered his mouth with his hand.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNvr64qRJh
Shoulders trembling.
He cried.
“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I just…”
He knelt in front of her.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl569Z03s6V
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZayifNYM6D
Again and again.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9CeIMc5uy
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpirhwdiMI
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.”
