Dominate Showbiz: Media Tycoon Discovered My Talent-Chapter 32: I Am Innocent

Kaija’s gaze lowered to her hands. Though the two men who’d beaten her had tried to avoid her face and hands as Gustav instructed, for reasons still unknown to her, there were still some purple bruises on her palms and fingers. Maybe she’d got them when she tried to cover her face and core.

She shot a questioning look at Juho. At this point, she was certain her ex-crush wasn’t just a flight attendant, a photographer, a kidnapper, and possibly a dangerous criminal. He was also a world-class actor. The shock on his face was almost too convincing.

"Wow, I almost bought that, Juho," she sneered. "I’ll totally watch whatever movie you star in if you ever go into acting."

"What are you talking about?" He frowned, yanking the blanket away from her body.

Her alert spiked. She grabbed a pillow to shield myself, ready to fight him. He snatched it away too, leaning closer. She threw the only pillow left at his face. He caught that one easily as well and reached for her wrist. She jerked back, dodging his hand.

"What the hell do you want now?" she shouted, scrambling away in panic.

He didn’t answer, just lunged at her with lightning speed, climbing over her and pinning her down. She thrashed and threw weak punches at his chest, but there was almost no strength left in her body, and Juho overpowered her easily.

In one swift motion he held her down, locking her neck between his arms, his forearm pressing against her airway jiujitsu-style.

Kaija couldn’t fight for long. The oxygen stopped coming. Within seconds her head went light and her body slackened completely. In that moment, she was certain that Juho was going to kill her, that she was going to die there on that bed.

Suddenly, his grip loosened. She coughed and gasped immediately, air rushing painfully back into her lungs. Juho was still sitting on top of her.

"You’ve calmed down now?" he asked, his tone nonchalant like he hadn’t just nearly choked her to death.

She was so angry she didn’t even want to reply. She just kept gasping for air like a fish thrown back into water, glaring at him with pure rage.

Juho didn’t seem bothered. Calmly, he grabbed her wrist and rolled her sleeve up. The higher it went, the darker his expression became.

"Who did this?" he asked, his voice low and sharp.

"Who else but your men?" Kaija muttered, scowling.

"My men?"

"Will you stop acting so innocent?"

"I am innocent," he grumbled. "Tell me exactly who did this."

Kaija frowned, starting to feel something was off. The weight in his tone and that cold, murderous edge in his eyes just felt too real to ignore now.

"Gustav and two more guys," she said curtly.

"When was it?"

"Three days ago."

"They came to your room?"

"No. Gustav took me to some empty room in the basement."

Juho fell silent. The air around him suddenly grew heavier.

"Would you show me where else they hit you?" he asked, his voice suddenly soft, almost pleading.

She stared at him, incredulous. Slowly, she lifted the silky blouse up to her bust, revealing the skin on her stomach. The last time she checked, it was mottled with purple and yellow-green bruises of all sizes.

Juho’s expression became unreadable. He ran his fingers over her skin, brushing some of the bruises with a strange gentleness. His cold gaze softened a little more with each passing second.

"Turn around," he said quietly. "Show me the rest."

She turned without protest, still trapped between his legs. He lifted her blouse up fully, leaving her back fully bare before his eyes, now a war zone of bruises even larger and darker than what he’d seen on her stomach.

She couldn’t tell what Juho was thinking. Her face was pressed tightly against the mattress. She only felt his cool hand moving slowly over her skin, his fingers grazing the bruises — some still hurt even at the slightest touch.

"You didn’t order it?" she asked.

"I didn’t," he said flatly. "Stay like this. I’ll be back soon." Then he suddenly climbed off her and left the room.

Kaija was stunned, more by the fact that Juho apparently had nothing to do with the beating than by his strange command for her to stay still like this. A few minutes later, he returned with a small dark jar in his hand.

She hadn’t moved an inch since he left, and Juho seemed almost relieved by that. As he came back to the bed, his expression was calmer. He opened the jar, scooped out some of the thick paste inside, and gently spread it over her back. The sharp herbal smell and the burning sensation told her it was some kind of balm.

"Why are you doing this?" she muttered.

He didn’t pause. "I shouldn’t have let it happen in the first place," he said curtly. "Turn around."

She quietly obeyed.

After he’d applied enough, he rose from the bed. "I’m sure there are more spots I can’t reach," he said. "Help yourself, or ask the maids. They’ll bring you fresh food in a few minutes. These have gone cold." With that, Juho left the room, pushing the cart he’d brought in earlier away with him.

Kaija lay on the bed, still dumbfounded. Had the sun started rising from the west now? Since when did kidnappers start caring for their victims this much? She slapped her face a few times, trying to gather her hazy thoughts.

Soon after, a maid knocked on the door. She devoured all the food. If luck had somehow turned in her favor, she might as well take advantage of it instead of sulking.

That evening, Juho came again. He said he wanted to help her with the balm on her back. She refused him cold, and he pinned her down anyway. He started flipping her from side to side like a fish in a pan, smearing the balm all over her skin until he was satisfied. Then he left just as abruptly as he had earlier that day.

The next day, he came again. Then again the day after. Three times a day, always at the same hours. Each time, he grew gentler, his touch lighter, his gaze softer when he looked at her. She was almost certain she’d end up with Stockholm syndrome if he kept treating her this kindly.

Could this be another one of his schemes? Could he have staged the whole thing, then played innocent to win her over so he could use her later somehow?

Every time Juho walked in, Kaija’s mind sharped with alert and suspicion. Still, she’d stopped protesting his balm session, just lay there with her limbs spread out, still and silent like a starfish, and let him do whatever he wanted. Even after the bruises had completely faded from her skin, Juho kept visiting.

The balm became moisturizing cream. He said it helped the marks fade. She didn’t buy a single word he said. There were no marks left to fade, and she was flexible enough to see her own back in the mirror.

Days went by like that, until one night, Juho suddenly came to her room past midnight.