A Wedding Night Gone Terribly Wrong novel Chapter 10

The last time she and Holden had been intimate was the exact day he returned from abroad. They had been entirely consumed by how much they missed each other, and it had been fiercely passionate. Even after she had completely exhausted herself, Holden had continued to relentlessly claim her.

He had pushed her until her whole body was trembling, leaving her so weak she couldn't even get out of bed.

She mentally calculated her cycle in the dark.

Her period was over two weeks late.

She was pregnant! She was carrying Holden's baby!

Knowing a new life was growing inside her, she couldn't just sit there and rot. She had been starving for over two weeks; her body's functions were shutting down, and her severe malnutrition meant she would inevitably lose the baby... just like she had lost her last one.

Winifred dragged herself to the wooden partition and began pounding weakly against the wall. "Open the door! I need to talk to someone!"

Perhaps because they hadn't heard a single sound from her in over fifteen days, the bodyguards were finally curious enough to check if she was dead.

Gus opened the door, his thick sunglasses obscuring his eyes. But Winifred immediately noticed the corners of his mouth drastically turn down, his jaw tightening in sheer shock.

It was obvious her corpse-like appearance had deeply disturbed the hardened bodyguard.

The red dress, which had fit her perfectly twenty days ago, now hung off her skeletal frame like a filthy, discarded potato sack. She leaned heavily against the wall, her eyes sunken and tightly squeezed against the blinding light, her face gaunt and pale as she struggled to stay upright.

"I want to see Holden. Go tell him."

Gus's voice was rigid and cold. "Have you finally agreed to sign the divorce papers?"

Winifred couldn't use her pregnancy to beg for mercy. If the news reached Roland Lockwood, not only would they force her to terminate the baby, but they would likely ensure she was thrown straight into a maximum-security prison to rot for the rest of her life.

Gus flatly refused to relay her message to Holden.

Desperate, she changed her plea, asking to see Arthur instead. The kindly old butler had always had a soft spot for her.

Surprisingly, Gus agreed.

Arthur arrived later that evening under the cover of darkness. The bodyguards only permitted him to open the small food slot at the bottom of the door.

Winifred collapsed onto her knees, speaking to the old man through the tiny gap. "Arthur, the food they bring me here is completely rancid. I can't eat it."

Arthur's voice cracked with a heavy sob. "Winifred, my poor dear, look at how you've suffered... sigh! It was Mr. Lockwood's direct order. Our hands are tied. None of us dare defy him."

"But wait a moment."

Arthur's footsteps shuffled away briefly. When he returned, a thick, trembling hand reached through the slot, sliding a small carton of milk onto the floor. The hand retreated, then reappeared, shoving a small bread roll through. Then again, and again...

What?

Holden... was getting engaged to Iris Morgan?

Winifred's emaciated legs completely gave out beneath her. She collapsed sideways, leaning heavily against the wooden wall, gasping for air in the dark.

It felt as though a serrated hunting knife had been plunged directly into her heart, slowly twisting and carving out chunks of her flesh.

The agony was completely paralyzing.

"I still want to talk to him. Arthur, can you please help me?"

She didn't care if the final outcome meant her heart would physically rupture or if her soul would be ground into dust. She needed absolute confirmation.

She needed to know if Holden had genuinely made this choice.

Even if the brutal truth completely destroyed her, she needed to hear him say it himself.

Arthur let out a long, shaky breath. "I will try to find a way. But please... don't get your hopes up."