Mr. Villain's Lovely Wife

Lovely wife 215

Lighting the Match

Izzy stood still as the door opened wider. Olivier Horvath stepped in first, sharp in a tailored coat, followed by Cassandra and Celeste. She didn't speak right away. Her eyes drifted from one to the next. She hadn't been expecting them-not here.

"Well," Izzy said as she pulled her coat tighter around herself. "This is unexpected."

Olivier closed the door behind them. He didn't sit. He didn't even glance at the television still playing on mute.

"Drop the act," he said. "You knew this was coming."

Izzy smiled faintly but said nothing. Her gaze shifted to Cassandra. The actress looked different-more composed, maybe even comfortable. That quiet confidence wasn't for show. She wasn't here to be ignored.

"You tried to change the vote," Olivier continued. "You threatened board members. You used your last name and your connections. And now you're pretending to be shocked that we showed up?"

"I don't recall pretending to be shocked," Izzy replied, walking past them and placing the tablet on the table. "But I guess I should thank you for bringing an audience. Mondo please leave us, wait outside." Izzy them took her phone and sent a quick text towards Mondo then she put her phone back in her pocket. Celeste said nothing. She stood with her arms crossed, watching Izzy closely. "You look well, all things considered," Cassandra said, a smirk apparent on her face.

"I'm healing," Izzy said. Her eyes lingered on Cassandra. "But you already knew that. Otherwise, you wouldn't have filed the complaint."

Cassandra didn't answer right away. She didn't flinch, either. Instead, she looked toward Olivier.

"Let's not do the polite exchange," Olivier said. "You're not the victim here. You tried to -manipulate an entire boardroom behind our backs. Now Liam's been arrested. I

wonder why."

Izzy shrugged lightly. "Maybe because I almost died and don't owe anyone a response right now?" She immediately notice how careful Olivier was with his words. The man must be wary of recordings,

"You owe a lot of people," Olivier said.

"Is that why you're here?" Izzy asked. "To collect on some invisible debt I'm

supposed to pay? Or are you here because Cassandra wants this moment to look good in front of you two?"

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Cassandra raised a brow. "You think I care about appearances?"

you care about

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Lighting the Match

moment, nobody

small and

at the board triggered?" he said. “Everything. Liam's arrest wasn't the beginning. It was the consequence. You changed the vote. You poked at everything your lawyers warned you not to. Now

what this man was talking about but was willing to

didn't break. "You can keep pretending you didn't see this coming, or you can start talking. Because the clock's running and your name is still on the Rossi shares tied to Horvath Holdings. Which means

the faintest nod, almost like a bow. Then she turned her back

are already here... let's not waste each other's time

divorce Liam," Olivier said. "Your marriage doesn't make sense. You have nothing in common and, to be honest, you are different from the woman that I want

life."

lifted an eyebrow. If she wasn't paying attention earlier, she now decided to

them her full attention.

he saw Izzy's expression

surprised," he said. "You knew this was coming. Liam deserves someone better, and that is

a slim

sign it. Once that's done, we'll make sure the charges

didn't move from the window. She kept her eyes on the city below. Her

She smiled to herself.

be about control. That was always Olivier's game. Izzy had known when she first started digging into the company that someone would run straight to him. She hadn't expected that information to sit quietly in

would try to pressure her, maybe cut her off from certain resources, or pull strings in the media. But to use

over

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Lighting the Match

was something else. She underestimated the man's willingness to

wanted to eliminate the one

Her.

face them. Her gaze landed on the

just sign that," she said.

Olivier said, not missing a

in her hand. She didn't open it.

angle-remove the wife, eliminate