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.”