A Wedding Night Gone Terribly Wrong novel Chapter 117

Holden slowly turned his head. He pressed a hand hard against his chest. His eyes, rimmed red and glistening with tears, locked onto Winifred. The corner of his mouth twitched, and a thin line of bright crimson blood trickled down, trailing over his jaw.

He stared at her in deafening silence for a long moment. Then, his lips curled into a strained, bitter smile. "You said I was dead to you, Winifred..."

"You're lying! Look at everything you've done. Every single act of defiance is aimed right at me."

"You're jealous. You're lashing out because you can't stand seeing me with Iris. You're literally getting violent over it. God... I'm embarrassed to even list the things you've done."

Iris was sobbing uncontrollably beside him. "Holden, let me help you up."

Just as her hands reached out, suspended in the air...

*Cough...*

Holden suddenly pitched forward, his neck straining.

Winifred heard the unmistakable, terrifying sound of fluid catching in his airway. Her medical instincts flared, and she instinctively stepped closer.

A violent spray of scarlet erupted from Holden's mouth. The blood splattered across the luxurious sapphire-blue rug, staining the expensive fibers nearly black.

"Holden... oh my god... are your organs bleeding?!"

Iris completely lost it. She shrieked, flailing her arms, clawing at the air and tearing at her own hair in sheer panic. Holden was her meal ticket, her entire world. If something happened to him, she was finished.

After a few moments of absolute hysteria, she finally found her voice.

"I need to call the police!"

"Yes! Yes, the police!"

"I have to call 911! Holden is severely injured! Oh god..." She bounced on her feet, frantically patting her pockets for her phone.

"Don't make a scene," Holden wheezed, grabbing her wrist to stop her. "We're in the Sutton mansion. If word gets out, it'll ruin our image."

That snapped Iris out of her frenzy.

He was right. If she called the police, the entire Sutton family would find out about this brawl. Winifred had nothing left to lose—she was a cornered animal. If Winifred decided to take them down with her, she could easily leak the fact that she was Holden's ex-wife.

The Sutton household was already a snake pit of gossip and rivalry. Someone like Paige, who loved causing chaos, would undoubtedly leak to the press that Iris was parading around with a divorced man. Or worse, the internet might spin the story to make Iris look like a homewrecker.

A wave of profound, chilling sorrow washed over Winifred. She stared at him, her expression a mix of pity and despair.

"You can barely stand, and you think you can protect her?"

Holden's gaze remained steely. "Every ounce of this bad blood is because of me. I demanded the divorce. I abandoned you. I kicked you out, and I'm the one who ruined your career. It was all me! It has absolutely nothing to do with Iris!"

"If you have hatred in your heart, aim it at me."

"Stop going after an innocent woman!"

*Innocent?*

The word hit Winifred like a physical blow, slicing right through to her breaking point. The memories surged forward, and despite everything, her heart still ached.

It had been three years. Over a thousand days of distance and exhaustion. Yet Holden's delusion remained utterly unshaken.

In his eyes, Iris was still the pure, innocent victim.

Which meant he still fully believed that Winifred was the monster.