A Wedding Night Gone Terribly Wrong novel Chapter 125

He wanted her to explain the pain of childbirth for the benefit of Iris's niece. He wanted her to confirm whether a father was there to comfort the mother when she cried in agony.

Winifred's hands clenched. Holden was twisting a knife directly into her heart.

He had absolutely no right to know about the agonizing pain she went through giving birth to Seth and Annelise. The lonely, terrifying night she spent in that cramped, run-down clinic. The excruciating cramps that felt like they were tearing her apart, the endless bleeding, the agonizing trauma, the suffocating darkness... all while Quentin Adams treated her with cold indifference.

She had lain on that tiny examination table feeling entirely abandoned, waiting for the pain to literally kill her.

She threw the question back with icy detachment.

"You'd be better off asking Iris."

Iris, lounging on the bed, immediately shot back, "I've never had a baby, how would I know how much it hurts?"

Winifred's tone was flat. "You've been together for over three years. Are you infertile?"

Holden's fertility was definitely not the issue; one night had been all it took for her. In three years, Iris could have easily had three children by now.

Iris's face contorted with anger. Before she could retort, Winifred cut her off again.

"If you haven't given birth, go ask your mother."

Iris had two older brothers, which meant Beatrice Morgan had given birth three times. That was Winifred's logic.

But Iris's expression darkened even further.

The truth was, Iris was adopted. She wasn't Beatrice Morgan's biological daughter. Before she became famous, her life in the Morgan family had been miserable. She was mediocre, did poorly in school, and only got into college because her parents paid for it. After graduation, her father had stuck her in a dead-end logistics job.

Her life had no future, no light.

That was until Madeleine approached her, giving her the chance to get close to the man she had secretly loved for years—Holden Lockwood.

It was only when her adoptive parents realized she had a shot at marrying into Seaport City's wealthiest family that they started to care about her. And it wasn't out of love; it was purely for the commercial benefits a connection to the Lockwoods would bring the Morgans.

Bringing up such an intimate topic as childbirth with Beatrice Morgan was entirely out of the question.

The room fell into a tense, suffocating silence.

"Oh my, you just ate," Lorna fretted. "If you eat too much, you'll get a stomachache and won't have any energy tonight."

"Who said I was eating them?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! Then who...?"

"It's for my woman."

"What?"

"No talking back! Bring them up immediately, and bring a lot of them!"

He slammed his hand down on the intercom, cutting her off.

His behavior was notoriously erratic, and the Sutton staff generally avoided him like the plague. Nobody wanted to deal with his outbursts.

Iris, having spent enough time in the Sutton household to know exactly how dangerous Declan could be, quickly scrambled off the bed. Holden began hastily packing up his laptop.