CHAPTER TWENTY: Daughter of the Damned15Please respect copyright.PENANA0eyfZqtc5N
(Her POV)
They didn’t plan a gender reveal.
No parties.15Please respect copyright.PENANAyNTc35UNFH
No confetti.15Please respect copyright.PENANAFIfAFiXx4E
No cute cakes with surprises inside.
Just them.15Please respect copyright.PENANAKUg2DTtGQ6
A small clinic.15Please respect copyright.PENANAfziDQcuNGP
A quiet monitor.
And a sound that would change everything.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor smiled.
Simple.15Please respect copyright.PENANA7XKGmvTCJ8
Direct.15Please respect copyright.PENANAPJub2BbE4J
Undeniable.
She looked at Matteo.
His face changed—15Please respect copyright.PENANA6hJIeh32ee
Like a storm stopped mid-fury.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
Then he turned away.
Covered his mouth with his hand.15Please respect copyright.PENANA1WRtLGIhLp
Shoulders trembling.
He cried.
“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I just…”
He knelt in front of her.15Please respect copyright.PENANAKh8IOMKbV6
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.15Please respect copyright.PENANA6iCSY5Zk6H
Again and again.15Please respect copyright.PENANAMmkpzysib3
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.15Please respect copyright.PENANAQYanQ7ubwH
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.”
ns216.73.216.227da2“Because our daughter will be proof… that even the most broken men can build something holy.”