A Wedding Night Gone Terribly Wrong novel Chapter 2

Crash!

Iris stumbled backward as if she'd been violently shoved. Her head slammed into the edge of the glass coffee table, the glass shattering with a sickening crunch as blood immediately began to pool beneath her.

Holden burst through the front door just in time to witness the aftermath.

"Winifred, what the hell are you doing?!"

His thunderous roar shattered the last remnants of Winifred's sanity. It also seemed to rouse Madeleine, who lay on the floor looking like a dying victim. Her eyes fluttered open, locking onto her son with a ghostly, devastated stare.

"Holden... is this... the woman you married?"

"Mom!" Holden dropped to his knees beside her.

Cloudy tears spilled down Madeleine's pale cheeks. "I told you... I told you not to be with her. You didn't listen. And now your mother pays the price."

"I'm so sorry!"

Madeleine gasped for air. "Are you happy now? You can go live your wonderful life with her... while the mother who gave you life dies a violent death... becoming a wandering ghost..."

"Mom, please stop talking! The paramedics are on their way."

Holden was trembling so hard he looked like he might shatter.

Madeleine weakly lifted a hand. "Go check on Iris. She tried to save me today. I... I dragged her into this."

"Iris will be fine, Mom. Just hold on."

Madeleine shook her head, forcing out her final, agonizing words. "I spent my whole life surrounded by wealth and privilege. My only true hardship was cancer. I fought it for three years... the surgery gave me hope for another ten years of life. I never imagined that today... I would be slaughtered by the woman you chose to marry. If you still have an ounce of love for the mother who raised you... you cannot share a bed with the woman who murdered me. She is your enemy!"

Coughing violently, Madeleine pushed him away. "Go... go check on Iris! She was hurt because of me! You have to take responsibility for her... treat her well. Otherwise... I won't be able to rest in peace!"

Winifred could only watch, numb and voiceless, as Holden scrambled over to Iris and gathered the bleeding woman into his arms.

"Iris, hold on. How are you?" Holden asked, his voice cracking with panic.

"Holden, am I... am I going to die?" Iris whimpered, curling pitifully against his chest, looking fragile and broken.

"No."

Holden scooped her up and sprinted toward the door. His long legs carried them swiftly, the wind carrying Iris's breathless, broken sobs back into the room.

Winifred stood rooted to the spot.

Six hulking bodyguards marched into the room, their expressions dark and menacing as they formed an inescapable circle around her.

When Holden finally reappeared, ten agonizing hours had passed.

Winifred had been locked inside the Admonition Cell, a damp, desolate room on the estate meant for punishing disgraced family members.

"I gave you exactly what you wanted. I married you! So why did you have to hurt them?!"

He stood in the doorway, his voice hoarse and shattered.

Winifred huddled in the corner, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees as she sat on the freezing, damp brick floor.

"I didn't do anything. It was a setup. They framed me."

"What the hell are you even defending?!" Holden roared.

Winifred stared at him, heartbroken that he could look at her with such blinding hatred. "Holden... you don't believe me?"