CHAPTER TWENTY: Daughter of the Damned18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡviV9qCIAyr
(Her POV)
They didn’t plan a gender reveal.
No parties.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBlEtFsntV
No confetti.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCUeiLO6Mz
No cute cakes with surprises inside.
Just them.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67iSf9aJPR
A small clinic.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMzHfjkxbo
A quiet monitor.
And a sound that would change everything.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor smiled.
Simple.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uX2GiJR4O
Direct.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdS39phO2ZP
Undeniable.
She looked at Matteo.
His face changed—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXiEmALGA7
Like a storm stopped mid-fury.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
Then he turned away.
Covered his mouth with his hand.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqe6fO4c5aK
Shoulders trembling.
He cried.
“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I just…”
He knelt in front of her.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gYqHP69nr
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd63mLLCS6l
Again and again.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCldn9lOXoY
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JxibLzTpb
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.”
ns216.73.216.203da2“Because our daughter will be proof… that even the most broken men can build something holy.”
