Mr. Villain's Lovely Wife

Lovely wife 217

A Circus

"I want shares," Izzy said, smiling.

"What did you say?" Olivier frowned, his face darkening.

They were already seated, the pretense of control slipping slightly around the edges. Olivier leaned forward, clearly trying to catch if he heard her right. Cassandra stiffened beside him, and even Celeste looked thrown off.

Izzy crossed her legs calmly. "You heard me. If you want me to ruin my marriage, you need to make it worth my while. I want ten percent of Horvath Holdings. No tricks, no creative accounting."

Cassandra immediately shot up from her chair. "Are you crazy?" she snapped. "Ten percent? That's-"

She stopped herself, visibly working through her anger.

"You're greedy," Cassandra said. "You should be grateful we're even offering you an out."

Izzy didn't move. She simply waited, letting them speak.

"You're biting off more than you can chew," Celeste added. "Women like us should know better. You're asking for something that isn't meant for you. Business is a man's world, Izzy. Stay where you belong."

"Isabella- " Olivier cut in, his hands resting heavily on the table. "Ask for

something else. I can give you money. A property. Cars. Pick what you want. You'll be taken care of."

Izzy tapped her nails against the armrest of her chair once, a soft, dismissive sound.

"Money?" she said. "Properties? Cars?"

She smiled again, colder this time.

"already have all of that. Probably more than

Olivier's jaw tightened.

you do."

elbows resting casually on her knees. "I'm not some kept woman you can throw a villa at to make her

are wasting our time! You never wanted to

change ownership. When it does, the stock value will skyrocket. I'm not asking for charity. I'm asking for a piece of what I'm helping

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at

voice steady. "You want the board back in your control. You want everything to quiet down before the shareholders

make that happen. Do you think dragging this through court helps you? You think the media will keep quiet when they find out Liam Horvath's

seat, her fingers tapping once against the side of her glass. She opened her

said carefully. "From a business perspective, what she's asking

her. "Are you out

a public scandal dragging the whole company down for months. We're not paying for her loyalty. We're paying for silence." Besides, if the old man lives, he would surely help Liam out. Isn't that a going to be

darkened further. He was the one with leverage! What's going

you want. Cassandra can smile for the cameras. But right

leaned back slightly, her tone cool, her posture relaxed. "You're businessmen. You know the value of a clean exit. I'm offering you one. Ten percent is cheaper than

wanting to protest, but Celeste's words had already

watching them all, waiting for Olivier to realize that he no longer had the leverage he

said. "I will tell my lawyer to process the ten

interrupted him with a loud sigh. "Too late," she got

"What?"

"Here's the new one: I want ten percent of Horvath Holdings now at a fair, competitive price. And once you become CEO, you'll transfer another ten percent to me. I want it in writing, signed today. Otherwise, you can get the hell out of this

"You!"

tight it looked painful. His hands balled into fists at his

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A Circus

her a thousand

was supposed to fold. She was supposed to cry, beg, or at the very least, argue like a normal woman. Instead, she humiliated him. She turned the entire negotiation into a circus and made

painfully. His whole body began to shake, small tremors running up his arms. He wanted to yell. He wanted to grab something and throw it. Anything to wipe the smirk off Isabella Rossi's face. Celeste, seeing

him.

trying to

shoved her hand away roughly and pushed