Mr. Villain's Lovely Wife

Chapter 144

Chapter 144

The door shut behind Liam with a quiet click.

Silence stretched across the boardroom for a few moments, the tension from the meeting still thick in the air. No one moved. No one spoke. It was as if they were waiting for confirmation that what they had just witnessed was real.

Then-

“He smiled.” muttered Christopher Adler, the CFO, blinking at the door like he had just seen a ghost. He turned to the others, still processing. “He actually smiled.”

A ripple of disbelief moved through the room.

“Did you see that?” another executive, Vincent Dupont, asked, adjusting his tie. “Or am I–am I hallucinating?”

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“You’re not hallucinating,” Luca Moretti, head of legal, muttered. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, looking deep in thought. “That was a smile.”

The entire team exchanged glances.

Their CEO–Liam Horvath–the man who had spent the last few weeks tearing through everyone like a cold–blooded executioner, had just smiled at his phone. Not a smirk, not a half–second twitch of amusement, but an actual, unmistakable smile.

It was unsettling.

Christopher frowned, rubbing his chin. “Since when does he smile?”

Vincent leaned in. “Since never.”

“Exactly,” Christopher said. “So, the question is–who the hell was on the other end of that message?”

A hushed murmur spread through the room.

Liam had been in a foul mood since he returned from his last trip. No one knew exactly what had happened, but his patience had been razor–thin, his temper even worse. The Covington acquisition team had been getting the worst of it, but truthfully, everyone had been walking on eggshells.

And yet–one text had flipped a switch.

Luca tapped his pen against the table. “Who do we know that could possibly make him react like that?”

Vincent’s eyes gleamed with curiosity. “A woman, obviously.”

Silence.

very private with his life. Many rumors surrounded him, but everyone in this room knew that those aren’t true. After all, they knew that

room fell into

It made sense.

during meetings, let alone be distracted by his phone. If he had actually smiled, then

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Chapter 144

someone from his family?

shook his head. “I in were family, he wouldn’t have smiled like that. He barely acknowledges his

Elise said. “And I doubt it’s business–related. Nothing about Covington is making him happy.”

back in his chair. “Then

seemed to settle it.

question hung in

watch. “I mean, has anyone ever seen him

“Not romantically, no.”

he doesn’t

him? There’s no

chuckled. “Maybe he’s just good at keeping secrets.”

“If that’s the case, then we’ll

had walked out of. “Unless,” he

exchanged amused glances, but the curiosity remained.

Horvath had managed to do the impossible–change his

called Izzy when he arrived at

he asked. “If anything feels off, take the meds the doctor prescribed right

concern. Leaving for London after what happened to Izzy wasn’t something he wanted, but he had no choice. She had been the one to convince

mood had been foul since the moment his plane left the U.S. What worsened his mood was the fact that Izzy had

he leaned back in

said, dragging out the word. “I’m

around his

dramatically. “Terrible condition, really. There’s only one known cure, but unfortunately, my doctor is

the bridge of his nose, but a smirk tugged at his

yet, you still like me.”

eased. “If you keep saying things like that, I’ll fly to Macau

people are trying to get close to

you know.”

straightened in his chair, his eyes

Chapter 166

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