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 wantto 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." Izzy leaned forward slightly, her elbows resting casually on her knees. "I'm not skept woman you can throw a villa at to make her disappear. If you wantto sign the divorce papers, then giveyour shares, ten percent. And I want it now." "You-" Olivier got up and pointed at her. "You are wasting our time! You never wanted to sign the papers in the first place!" "How can you call that greedy?" Izzy said, blinking as if surprised they even needed this explained. "The company is about 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 you secure. Isn't that only logical?" 1/4 A Circus Olivier's hand curled into a fist at his side, but Izzy didn't flinch.

"You want Liam out," Izzy said, her voice steady. "You want the board back in your control. You want everything to quiet down before the shareholders start demanding answers." She placed her hands neatly on her lap. "I'm the fastest way to 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 father threw his son under the bus to settle a personal score?" Celeste shifted in her seat, her fingers tapping once against the side of her glass. She opened her mouth, hesitated, then spoke.

"She's not wrong," Celeste said carefully. "From a business perspective, what she's asking makes sense." Olivier turned sharply toward her. "Are you out of your mind?" Celeste lifted her shoulders slightly. "Ten percent now is better than 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 a problem for them? Olivier's face darkened further. He was the one with leverage! What's going on now!? "You can find another woman for Liam to parade around if you want. Cassandra can smile for the cameras. But right now, none of that fixes your immediate problem. I do." She 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 the alternative." Cassandra shook her head, clearly wanting to protest, but Celeste's words had already planted doubt.

Seeing this, Izzy sat still, watching them all, waiting for Olivier to realize that he no longer had the leverage he thought he did.

"Fine!" Olivier said. "I will tell my lawyer to process the ten percent-" Izzy interrupted him with a loud sigh. "Too late," she got up.

"What?" "My offer expired," Izzy said, rising from her seat. "Here's the new one: I want ten percent of Horvath Holdings now at a fair, competitive price. And once you becCEO, you'll transfer another ten percent to me. I want it in writing, signed today. Otherwise, you can get the hell out of this room." "You!" Olivier's face turned red, his jaw so tight it looked painful. His hands balled into fists at his sides. He glared at Izzy as if he could burn a hole through her.

2/4 A Circus Inside, he cursed her a thousand different ways.

He had been so sure. So damn sure he could handle her. She 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 him look like a fool sitting across from her.

The realization made his chest tighten 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 his expression, quickly reached for his hand under the table to steady him.

"Please-" Celeste started, trying to calm him.

Olivier shoved her hand away roughly and pushed her back against the chair with a hard shove to her shoulder. Celeste gasped and grabbed the edge of the table for balance...

"Shut up!" Olivier snapped at her.

Cassandra froze in her seat, wide-eyed, saying nothing.

Olivier turned back to Izzy, his breathing harsh, his hands shaking badly now. His entire body coiled like he was one second away from lunging across the table.

Before he could move, the door to the suite swung open.

Mondo stepped inside, cool and collected, his phone in one hand.

He glanced once at Izzy, then at Olivier.

"Madam, everything's done," Mondo said as if the room wasn't seconds from exploding.

He turned his attention back to Olivier.

"Mr. Horvath," Mondo said, polite but firm, "I'll be walking you and your guests out now." The message was clear. It wasn't a request.

Olivier's hands twitched at his sides, his body trembling with rage, but he said nothing. Cassandra stood quickly grabbing Celeste by the arm to pull her to her feet. Celeste didn't argue. She kept her head down, her face pale. Meanwhile, Mondo waited patiently by the door, unmoving like a block of ice.

"We're not finished, Isabella!" Olivier snarled, his voice cutting through the room like a blade. He pointed at her one last time, his hand trembling with rage. "You will pay for what you did today. I swear it."

Without waiting for a response, Olivier spun on his heel and stormed toward the door. Cassandra and Celeste scrambled after him. 3/4