A Wedding Night Gone Terribly Wrong novel Chapter 178

As Iris's triumphant laughter settled, she turned her gaze toward Winifred, her eyes flashing with a clear, arrogant message: *Look at me. Look at everything I have.*

Winifred immediately became the focal point of the room. The Lockwoods stared at her with disdain, the Morgans with smug satisfaction, and Nelly's entourage with mild curiosity.

Ignoring the silent hostility, Winifred locked eyes with the man she considered the most intimidating presence in the room: Roland Lockwood.

Roland was famously cold, a man who measured the world strictly in terms of leverage and profit. Back when Madeleine first suggested the Morgan family for an alliance, Roland had furiously shut it down. *"You want my son to repeat my mistakes? The Morgans are small-time. They aren't fit to shine Holden's shoes."*

It was only through Madeleine's relentless campaigning and constant invitations to bring Iris around that Roland had eventually caved.

But tonight, Roland was making a statement. Traditionally, a family presented the bridal gifts all at once. Roland, however, had explicitly ordered them to be announced piece by piece, a deliberate move to elevate Iris's status and show the world that the Lockwoods fully embraced her.

He stood tall, commanding the room with the aura of an absolute patriarch.

"Iris is a woman of exceptional character," Roland declared, his deep voice carrying over the silence. "At home, she is gentle, understanding, and respectful. In the world, she is driven, fearless, and successful. She has shown everyone what true feminine grace and ambition look like. The Lockwood family is honored to welcome her. She deserves this level of respect, and she has earned the highest honors we can give."

The translation was clear: Iris was not only devoted to Holden, but she was a powerful, successful public figure in her own right. She brought value to the family name.

And as he spoke, Roland stared directly at Winifred.

The implication wasn't lost on the Lockwood relatives. They immediately caught the subtext, aiming condescending, victorious smirks at Winifred. Iris's parents, meanwhile, practically glowed with pride, exchanging quiet, self-satisfied chuckles.

Winifred met her gaze evenly, watching as the smug smile on Serena's face instantly soured into a glare.

Serena quickly looked away, exchanging a bitter glance with her sister, Rochelle, before both looked toward their mother, Madeleine.

They had always resented their mother for bringing Winifred into their home. The Lockwoods already had three daughters—a fact society loved to gossip about—and adding a random, utterly useless girl to the mix who freeloaded for fifteen years had infuriated them.

What made it worse was that Holden had relentlessly protected Winifred. If the sisters ever tried to bully her, Holden made them pay for it. Unable to touch her, they had spent their teenage years wishing Winifred would just drop dead.

Now, finally, they had their revenge. Iris was officially taking the throne, and Winifred was being publicly humiliated. It was the ultimate victory.