Mr. Villain's Lovely Wife (Izzy) novel Chapter 200

Chapter 200 

Chapter 200 

“To be honest, you are so different from the woman that I was expecting to meet today. But I can’t say I am disappointed.” Ian Morcant smiled. “Tea?” He offered the current tea before him. “I brewed it myself.” 

“I can see that,” Izzy gave him a smile. 

“It’s Silver Needle–harvested in Fujian, China. The leaves are only picked for a few days each spring,” Ian said, carefully pouring the tea into the smaller cup in front of her. “The growers claim that the best batches come from a specific altitude, around 1,200 meters. They dry the leaves in natural sunlight. No machines. No shortcuts.” 

Izzy accepted the cup but didn’t drink yet. 

Ian leaned back slightly in his chair. He rested one arm along the edge of the table. “The first time I had it, I was nineteen. I was visiting an investor in Hong Kong, someone who believed in formalities. He poured me a cup and said, ‘Don’t speak until you taste it.‘ I thought it was odd. But I did as he asked.” 

He looked at the tea in his hand, fingers wrapping around the delicate porcelain. 

“I didn’t get it at first. It tasted like nothing to me. Subtle. Almost too quiet to notice. I told him so. He smiled and said I wasn’t wrong–just impatient.” Ian’s mouth twitched slightly, not quite a grin. “He explained that some things don’t hit you with flavor or strength. Some things ask you to slow down. To pay attention.” 

Izzy nodded once. She finally took a sip. 

Ian continued, “Later, when the investment went bad, that same man refused to pull out. He said the company needed time. He waited. Three years later, it was one of the best decisions he ever made.” 

Izzy set her 

cup 

down. 

“I still don’t love tea,” Ian said. “But I make this one when I know I need to stop and think. Not react. Just observe.” 

He looked at her for a moment, not with suspicion, but with focus. 

“I knew who you were on paper. In reports. In summaries. I didn’t expect this version of you in the boardroom today. That’s not a criticism. It’s just an observation.” 

Izzy didn’t respond right away. She let him finish. 

“I think Gregory expected you to walk in and ask for permission. You didn’t,” Ian said. “That changes things.” 

She tilted her head slightly. “Is this your way of telling me I made an impression?” 

He nodded once. “It’s my way of telling you people will start testing you differently now. They’ve seen enough to worry. You should expect that.” 

Izzy picked up her cup again. “Good,” she said. “I’d be disappointed if they didn’t.” 

Ian didn’t press further. He simply took another sip of tea. 

Izzy watched him for a moment, her fingers wrapped around the warm cup. Ian Morcant. Thirty, unmarried, and already sitting at the head of a multimillion–dollar company. On paper, it looked impressive. Too impressive. And she knew better than anyone that nothing that smooth came without help. 

She glanced at the tea again before setting it down. “You’re talking like someone who isn’t close to Gregory,” she said. 

Ian didn’t flinch. He smiled. “Doing your research is always a good habit. I appreciate that.” 

1/3 

96% 

Chapter 200 

+23 

He set his cup aside and adjusted his cufflink, a subtle motion more out of rhythm than need. “I wouldn’t deny it. The one who wanted me here was Gregory. Everyone knows that. He pushed the board to appoint me. But that doesn’t mean I can’t manage this company.” 

Izzy leaned back slightly, not defensive, just thoughtful. “That’s not what I meant.” 

“I know,” Ian replied, calm as ever. 

She studied him again. He wasn’t like the others on the board. There was no need to fill every silence. No sharp movements, no visible posturing. He didn’t dominate the space around him. He just occupied it fully. Confident without performing it. 

She thought about Liam–how he always entered a room like it owed him something. His confidence was loud, sometimes reckless, always deliberate. Ian wasn’t like that. He didn’t announce his presence. He just existed in it, like someone who didn’t need to prove anything. 

That difference stood out to her more than she expected. 

She didn’t respond right away. Instead, she looked down at the tea, then back at Ian. “Then why did Gregory choose you?” 

Ian didn’t answer immediately. He reached for the teapot and refilled his cup with quiet precision. Then he looked up, meeting her eyes again. 

“That,” he said, “is something I’ve been asking myself since the day I took this job.” 

Izzy took another sip of the tea. She waited for something to hit–flavor, bitterness, anything. But it didn’t. It was quiet, almost like drinking warm water with a hint of… something. She wasn’t even sure what. It wasn’t bad, just underwhelming. 

She smiled to herself. 

Ian noticed. “What do you think?” 

“It’s… fine,” she said, setting the cup down. “Tastes like something I’d get at a wellness retreat. The kind where they tell you to listen to your body and breathe slower.” 

He gave a small nod, as if that was the answer he expected. 

“I guess I’m not that patient either,” she added. “I like things that make their point faster.” 

“That’s fair,” Ian said, folding his hands loosely in front of him. “Most people do. That’s why not everyone sticks around to run things long term.” 

Izzy tilted her head, considering him again. “So, you’re saying I need to slow down?” 

“No,” he said. “I’m saying people will expect you to.” 

She nodded once. That sounded more accurate. 

Izzy glanced toward the window for a second, her thoughts shifting back to the reports. “Gregory clearly has a strategy. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have backed you.” 

“He does,” Ian said. “But I’m not part of it in the way most people assume.” 

“And yet you’re still here.”