CHAPTER TWENTY: Daughter of the Damned17Please respect copyright.PENANASmZpQ5Mvmn
(Her POV)
They didn’t plan a gender reveal.
No parties.17Please respect copyright.PENANAb9AWOe1vt1
No confetti.17Please respect copyright.PENANAbENgigo57q
No cute cakes with surprises inside.
Just them.17Please respect copyright.PENANAILLWmhF3lK
A small clinic.17Please respect copyright.PENANAxdbjKkdxHC
A quiet monitor.
And a sound that would change everything.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor smiled.
Simple.17Please respect copyright.PENANAbFNlk3Dy68
Direct.17Please respect copyright.PENANAKBNQdF8Kb3
Undeniable.
She looked at Matteo.
His face changed—17Please respect copyright.PENANA479i7CWcKy
Like a storm stopped mid-fury.
His lips parted, but no words came out.
Then he turned away.
Covered his mouth with his hand.17Please respect copyright.PENANA5jO7bfmnzT
Shoulders trembling.
He cried.
“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I just…”
He knelt in front of her.17Please respect copyright.PENANAh0RVPU4zwQ
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.17Please respect copyright.PENANASgDkpjs1U0
Again and again.17Please respect copyright.PENANANOdQs7ZBLK
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.17Please respect copyright.PENANAMPvmDbuJBr
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.”
ns216.73.216.12da2“Because our daughter will be proof… that even the most broken men can build something holy.”