A Wedding Night Gone Terribly Wrong novel Chapter 116

She had endured that agony completely alone, absorbing the trauma and healing her own wounds in silence.

The past was a merciless blade, slicing her heart wide open without offering any remedy. Holden, of all people, had no right to hurt her. She had loved him with everything she had, even risking her own life for him.

Even when he misunderstood her, divorced her, abandoned her, and chose Iris while she was left drowning in despair, she hadn’t hated him. She had accepted her fate and let him go.

But apparently, that wasn’t enough for him.

Meeting his razor-sharp gaze brought on the second layer of agony: his absolute, unadulterated hatred. Holden despised her. He hated her for supposedly harming his mother, and he hated her for "tormenting" the innocent Iris. For Iris's sake, he had declared war on her, promising to ruin her completely.

Staring into those eyes for too long made Winifred’s blood run cold. A sickening pain twisted in her chest.

She narrowed her eyes. "I’ll say it one more time. I am following Dr. Adams' protocol. If it doesn’t work, take it up with him. Do you understand?"

Holden’s icy glare didn’t waver. "And if I don’t?"

Winifred raised her fist. "I am done holding back against you!"

Iris immediately chimed in, perfectly playing the distressed angel. "Ah! Winifred, please don’t be mad! Holden is just worried about me. He’s only acting like this because he cares—"

"Shut your mouth!" Winifred snapped, her head whipping around to glare daggers at Iris.

"You venomous snake! The only reason I haven’t retaliated against your endless scheming is because, as far as I’m concerned, Holden is dead! He is nothing but a walking corpse dragging your ugly soul around town!"

"I refuse to waste my energy fighting a vicious woman like you over a dead man. But your tiny brain actually thought I was scared of you, so you kept pushing and pushing."

Winifred raised her fist higher. She could easily knock out a full-grown man; breaking Iris would be child's play.

Iris had clearly never seen Winifred explode like this. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she reached out, trembling. "I..."

Winifred grabbed Iris’s outstretched arm and twisted it sharply.

"Ah! Holden!"

Holden snapped out of his shock and surged forward to play the hero.

"Back off!" Winifred barked, pointing a rigid finger directly at his face.

Holden froze, glancing at Iris, who was weeping pitifully on the bed, begging for his help. He stared at her for a long second.

When he turned his eyes back to Winifred, they were glistening with unshed tears.

Winifred backhanded him across the face, the sheer force snapping his head to the side.

Before he could react, she lunged forward, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him down to her eye level.

*Smack! Smack!*

Two more brutal slaps echoed through the room, striking both sides of his face.

"You clearly forgot who I am, Holden, so let me remind you. I am the protégé of Chester Shultz, the master healer of Sterling Peak! My mentor fought off packs of wild wolves with his bare hands!"

"We aren’t afraid of wolves, and I'm certainly not afraid of a piece of trash like you!"

*Thud!*

She released his collar, instantly pivoted, and drove her foot hard into his stomach.

The kick launched Holden backward, sending him crashing to the floor.

"Ahhh!" Iris shrieked, scrambling off the bed with tears streaming down her face. She threw herself onto the floor beside him. "Holden! Why didn't you fight back?"