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.

of the junior executives, a woman named Lisa Laurent, leaned forward. “Do you think it’s… you know… someone special?” The CEO had been very private with his life. Many rumors surrounded him, but everyone in this room knew that those

fell into thoughtful silence.

It made sense.

type of man to engage in casual conversations during meetings, let alone be distracted by his phone. If he had actually smiled, then whoever had messaged

26 Feb

Chapter 144

from his family? Christopher

in were family, he wouldn’t have smiled like that. He

I doubt it’s business–related. Nothing

back in his chair. “Then it must

seemed to

question

“I mean, has anyone ever seen him with someone?”

“Not romantically, no.”

he

like him?

“Maybe he’s just

case, then we’ll probably

door Liam had walked out of. “Unless,”

exchanged amused glances, but the curiosity

Liam Horvath had managed to

immediately called Izzy when he arrived at

“If anything feels off, take the meds the doctor

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

from her irritated him. His mood had been foul since the moment his plane left the U.S. What worsened his mood was the fact that

leaned back in his chair, waiting for Izzy’s response.

Izzy finally said, dragging out the word. “I’m

tightened around his phone.

think I might be lovesick,” she said dramatically. “Terrible condition, really. There’s only one known

the bridge of his nose, but a smirk

“And yet, you

his head, but the tension in his shoulders eased. “If you keep saying things like that, I’ll fly

Izzy chuckled. “Some people are trying to get close to

you know.”

in his chair,

Chapter 166

and of hair oder Vast is e

the

fall with Law Bzzy countuned. And he’s maying to the same bones

as doing in face