CHAPTER TWENTY: Daughter of the Damned40Please respect copyright.PENANAA8oGX2LDvd
(Her POV)
They didn’t plan a gender reveal.
No parties.40Please respect copyright.PENANA2mYTYWZXuP
No confetti.40Please respect copyright.PENANAZSJbEeHrdF
No cute cakes with surprises inside.
Just them.40Please respect copyright.PENANADXeBsppb76
A small clinic.40Please respect copyright.PENANAir2BVA8kRp
A quiet monitor.
And a sound that would change everything.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor smiled.
Simple.40Please respect copyright.PENANAyDTyj6noSY
Direct.40Please respect copyright.PENANAIE8x63et3w
Undeniable.
She looked at Matteo.
His face changed—40Please respect copyright.PENANAyT5skdIqvH
Like a storm stopped mid-fury.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
Then he turned away.
Covered his mouth with his hand.40Please respect copyright.PENANAuwqnEzEQub
Shoulders trembling.
He cried.
“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I just…”
He knelt in front of her.40Please respect copyright.PENANAbZU341LdOU
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.40Please respect copyright.PENANAHCRtCmSnLY
Again and again.40Please respect copyright.PENANAd9qDH9PaKO
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.40Please respect copyright.PENANAhDvIxHI499
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.”
ns216.73.216.2da2“Because our daughter will be proof… that even the most broken men can build something holy.”