Mr. Villain's Lovely Wife

Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Macau

Izzy sighed as she shrugged off her coat and draped it over the bed. She then raised an eyebrow as she turned

toward Liam, who followed her into her hotel room without hesitation. He moved with his usual confidence, as if

her space was his to occupy. Why was he treating this place as his own!?

“You really should stop agitating him like that,” she said, folding her arms.

Liam leaned casually against the edge of the dresser, his lips curling into a faint smirk. “Why should I? It's fun,”

he said, watching her closely. “Besides, | didn’t think you'd be affected.”

Izzy narrowed her eyes. “I'm not affected. | just don’t want any trouble,” she blurted. She knew how Calen had

been drinking heavily lately. Alcohol had clouded his judgment. She couldn’t shake the worry that he might do

something reckless, especially to Liam.

Liam straightened and took a step toward her. “If you're not affected,” he said, his tone low, “then why are you

askingto stop? Isn't it just a little more fun this way?”

Izzy pinched the bridge of her nose and began massaging her temples. “It’s childish,” she muttered, glancing at

him with faint exasperation.

He stopped in front of her, standing close enough that she could smell his cologne. “Is it because you still care

about him?” he asked, his gaze sharp.

|

Her head snapped up. “I don’t care about Calen anymore,” she said without hesitation.

Almost immediately, she noticed the subtle change in Liam's face. His smirk disappeared, replaced by something

darker, more intense. His jaw tightened, and his eyes burned with an unspoken emotion. Izzy frowned and tilted

her head. “Are you angry?” she asked.

Liam didn’t answer right away. Instead, he took another step closer, his gaze never leaving hers. “What if | am?”

he asked.

Izzy's lips pursed. Why would he be angry? Was it because he was being called out? Then she smirked, lifting her

chin. “You just remindedof how you used to act,” she said. “Always finding ways to get under my skin,

always bullyingaround. Do you enjoy causing so much trouble?”

However, her teasing seemed to land differently than she expected. Instead of softening, Liam's expression

darkened further, his features hardening. Izzy's smirk faltered as he leaned in, the space between them

disappearing in an instant.

He held her gaze, his voice low and deliberate. “Is that the real reason you don’t wantto bother Calen?” he

asked. “Because you still love him?”

Izzy's breath caught as her heart skipped a beat. “You-of course not. Liam... why would you-“Why is he asking

this question with that angry look in his eyes? “Calen’s a pest, alright? But | can handle him.”

“Can you?” he asked.

She opened her mouth, wanting to assure him that she could indeed handle Calen. However, the memories of

what happened in her office suddenly filled her head.

Izzy hesitated, her words faltering as the memory of Calen gripping her wrist and yelling at her surfaced. She

clenched her fists at her sides, trying to push the thought away, but her silence had already betrayed her.

Seeing her reaction, Liam's eyes narrowed slightly as if he had pieced something together. “So you're not as

unaffected as you wantto believe,” he said. “You say you can handle him, but here you are, tellingto

stop. Why? Because you're worried about what he might do-or what | might do?”

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Chapter 82

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Izzy's jaw tightened as she met his gaze, the tension between the crackling like a live wire. “I told you already. |

don’t want trouble. Is that so hard to understand?” She can’t have problems now, especially with the surrounding

project in Macau. She needed to collaborate with Liam while working with Calen and she can’t do that if the two

were always acting like cats and dogs around her.

“Is that it?” he asked as he stepped even closer, and suddenly, the small space between them felt suffocating.

“You don’t want trouble? Or is it because you're afraid you won't be able to control it?”

Izzy's breath hitched, but she refused to back down. “Don’t twist my words,” she snapped, glaring at him. “| just

don’t want to waste my tcleaning up after your childish games.”

“Childish games?” Liam's smirk returned, but it was sharper now tinged with something darker. “Is that what you

think this is? Didn't you think about it? Maybe you're the one playing games, Izzy.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He leaned in, his face so close to hers now that she could feel his warm breath against her cheeks. “You know

exactly what it means,” he said. “You're pushingaway, but you're the one who keeps pullingback. Or are

you tellingthat you haven't realized that yet?”

Izzy swallowed. She was pulling him back? Toward her? Izzy's breath quickened, her pulse pounding in her ears

as her eyes moved from his eyes to his moistened lips, then back to his eyes.

The challenge in his eyes was infuriating, but the heat simmering between them was impossible to ignore. She

opened her mouth to retort, but no words cout. Instead, her frustration boiled over in a single, impulsive

act.

Unable to control her emotions, she grabbed his collar, pulling him down to her level, and crashed her lips

against his in a fiery, unrestrained kiss.

In response, Liam didn’t hesitate. His hands found her waist, pulling her closer as he kissed her back with equal

intensity.

The heat between them flared like a spark catching fire. 1zzy’s grip tightened on his shirt as the world around her

blurred into nothingness. She hated how good this felt-how natural it was to lose herself in the moment with

him.

She felt him hold the back of her head, his hand clutching her hair.

But just as quickly as it began, the kiss ended. Izzy pulled back, her breathing uneven as she stared at him, her

cheeks flushed.

Liam’s gaze burned into hers, his hands still on her waist. “What was that?”

Her chest rose and fell with every breath as she searched for an answer. “That,” she swallowed. For some

reason, a part of her hated the fact that she stopped the kiss. “Wasshutting you up

A slow, dangerous smirk spread across Liam’s face. “You have an interesting way of doing that,” he said.

Izzy glared at him, pushing against his chest to put space between them. “Don’t read too much into it,” she said

firmly. “It doesn’t change anything.”

f

“Really?” Then he snorted. “Are you trying to makelaugh?”

“What?”

However, he didn’t answer her question as he pulled her back into his arms and crashed his lips against hers.