Kaija Sepala hated being cheated on.
The pain searing her chest when she saw Niklas kissing Marja taught her enough about how much it sucked being cheated on.
That was precisely the reason why she felt compelled to make it clear to Charles, Antony, and Karl about how she had feelings toward all three of them. She had no desire to hurt them the way Niklas and Marja had hurt her.
Karl hadn’t called or texted her back since she told him that, and his response was perhaps the most normal of all three.
But the way Charles and Antony had reacted, that shocked her to the core, just the way Juho’s reaction was shocking her right now.
"I’m certain the wine must have done something to your thinking, Juho," Kaija said, scooping a spoonful of rice and bringing it to his mouth.
He must have been so busy feeding her this entire time that he hadn’t gotten to eat anything at all, and that must have made him start losing his mind.
Juho’s mouth opened wide for the spoonful, and he seemed rather delighted that she was feeding him. "How thoughtful of you. I can already imagine what a happy boyfriend I’ll be when I finally convince you to be mine."
His words did nothing to ease Kaija’s panic. "Eat more," she demanded, bringing another spoonful to his mouth. "Your blood sugar levels are dropping. You’re not thinking clearly."
Chuckles slipped out of Juho through his mouthful, the delight on his face not fading away. "Slow down now, my princess. I need to chew as well."
Kaija’s face darkened at my princess yet again. She turned the spoon toward her own mouth instead, chewing furiously. She also needed more energy to deal with this entire madness.
"I don’t need you to give me an answer immediately," Juho said, still chuckling softly upon seeing the cuteness unfolding before his eyes. "I’ve already prepared my mind to endure not receiving an answer from you for a good long time."
"Please, Juho, stop," Kaija muttered back, unable to bring herself to meet the sincerity in his eyes. "Just give up on the whole idea altogether, and stop wasting your time."
Juho apparently had no intention of stopping. "In fact, my plan is to make you desire me more than how much I desire you."
At that, Kaija’s eyes once again widened in shock. She hoped she’d heard it wrong, but at this point, she wasn’t even feeling drunk anymore.
"Right..." she replied with a bright smile, and another spoon was pushed straight into Juho’s mouth to stop him from spilling another word. "Let’s see how well your plan works out for you in the end."
Their lunch was finished without a single grain of rice or salmon left on the plate. It wasn’t even because they were hungry, but mainly because Kaija figured chewing would actually stop Juho from talking. She kept feeding him relentlessly the entire time.
"My princess is so keen on keeping me fed," Juho teased, dabbing his lips gracefully with a tissue. "I’ve never felt more full and happy in my life."
"Keep your happiness to yourself, or I’m leaving right this instant." Her voice was an obvious threat.
"Alright, alright," Juho lifted both hands in surrender. "I’ll still need you for the shoot. Come, let me show you the rest of this place, before I show you what I want to do for this shoot."
The grand staircase revealed two more floors above, each leading to more rooms than one person could ever live in, all furnished with the grandest vintage furniture Kaija had ever seen.
She hadn’t truly realized how influential the Isota family was until this moment, housing so many priceless paintings and rare historical artifacts in one single place.
Given that the Isotas were essentially criminals for generations, perhaps they had deliberately kept their wealth and influence to themselves and maintained a low-key status, until the head of the family, Simo Isota, decided to step into politics.
This estate, for example, was already a few centuries old, and yet its condition still looked as though it were in its prime. It was first given to Juho’s mother when his father married her, but after she divorced him and left S Country, it was passed down to Juho.
"If your father loved your mother so much," Kaija said as they walked through the aged corridors together, "why keep you, her only son with him, a secret all this time?"
"My mother was loved, but she was only the second wife. My three brothers weren’t very happy about their reunion, especially when my father married my mother only a few months after the first madam died."
"Was that why she left him, then?"
"Not at all," Juho replied with a warm smile. "She left him because he was one hell of a horrible father."
Kaija’s chest tightened. She’d never known what it felt like to have a father, but perhaps having a horrible father must have felt just as dreadful as having a horrible mother.
"How horrible?" Her voice grew small and hesitant.
Juho’s lips pressed together as he considered whether the truth would be bearable for her ears. His hand lifted toward her face, where worry had already settled, and his lips curved into a gentle smile.
"By the time I was twelve, I was capable of running the entire network on my own. I hope that gives you a good idea of the kind of training required in my earlier years to reach that point."
Kaija fell silent, understanding what he meant by training at once. "He made you do horrible things," she said.
His soft smile deepened, and the fingers lingering against her cheek began to caress her skin, as if quietly confirming her words. "Unfortunately for my father, my mother wasn’t fond of any of his methods."
The door at the end of the corridor opened into a spacious room that resembled a prestigious museum gallery. Inside, a single divan sat at the center, surrounded by small glass-covered stands, the walls lined with paintings even more magnificent than those decorating the living room downstairs.
"Come," Juho invited, "let me show you some of the few things my mother left behind for me when she decided to leave this country for good."
When Kaija approached one of the glass-covered stands, jewelry of all shapes and colors lay displayed beneath it. Earrings, necklaces, rings, and ornate brooches encrusted with precious gemstones and intricate metalwork, their craftsmanship alone suggesting prices in the hundreds of thousands of S dollars.
"Juho," Kaija called out at once, her voice already trembling, "please don’t tell me you want me to wear these to model for this shoot."
Her fear was quickly confirmed. "You’re very smart, Kaija," Juho replied, a satisfied smile playing at his lips. "If not you, then I couldn’t bring myself to let anyone else wear these treasures my mother left behind for me."
"Juho, you can’t be serious. How could I possibly wear something this precious to you—"
Kaija cut off her own words when she turned to Juho. He’d already slipped on white gloves without her noticing, carefully inserting a small vintage key into the lock beneath the glass cover.
"You could, because I decided that you deserve these," Juho replied, lifting the glass cover with practiced care. He turned to her, one gloved hand gesturing toward the jewelry on display. "Now, which one would you like to start with first?"