Dominate Showbiz: Media Tycoon Discovered My Talent-Chapter 140: I Love You

"What the hell is this?" Kaija mumbled in shock the moment she turned the door to her flat open.

The receptionist had given Kaija a heads-up that she had a huge order waiting for her at her place, but that girl had never mentioned the order was this.

Inside Kaija’s living room and kitchen combined, two hundred bouquets of flowers in different sizes sat. If they were not on the kitchen counter surface, then they were on the couch and the coffee table. All were wrapped in sapphire blue wrappers.

"This could only be Karl," Antony commented from behind her. His voice was bland, his face tight with displeasure at the sight.

"Karl?" Kaija uttered. Her eyes soon landed on the note lying open on the kitchen counter.

"My goodness," she blurted after reading the note. "I knew he was into cheesy stuff, but I didn’t know he was this... extreme. What am I supposed to do with all these?" Her head was already spinning.

"Just leave them to me," Antony volunteered unconditionally. "I’ll give them all to my trainees, and the staff in the Performance Department too."

Sweat trickled down Kaija’s temples. "Hah... you know I can’t do that..."

As flat as Antony might have sounded, by now, Kaija had acquired the special ability of reading through his expressionless face. That face was telling her now that the man was drowning in jealousy.

"What time will you return from the interview with Dazzle magazine?" Antony asked.

"In the evening. Would you still have enough energy to work on the album around that time?"

A small smile bloomed on Antony’s face. "You know my answer already. My energy is up when it comes to you."

His lips pressed against Kaija’s in one last, lingering kiss, before he reluctantly left for his dance classes.

As for Kaija, she had another more urgent matter at hand than getting ready for the interview with S Country’s most prestigious magazine.

She needed to give Karl a call immediately. Otherwise, he might go insane and send another two hundred bouquets of flowers to her flat, or God knew what else.

Karl answered the call within the first ring.

"Birdie!" his voice exploded through the speaker, his baby face filling up the screen. "Why haven’t you been answering my calls? You promised you would answer when I call! Where have you disappeared to? Was your performance going alright? No, actually, I’ve watched it live already! You looked absolutely amazing on stage in that red dress, birdie! I almost had a heart attack seeing you in that gorgeous dress!"

"Karl," Kaija muttered with a flat face. "Chill. One question at a time, or I’m going."

"Noooooooo!" Karl cried, but quickly slammed his own mouth shut.

Taking a deep breath and a long exhale, he smoothed his face back into stillness. His turquoise eyes were glittering, as if there were hearts shooting out of them, even through the screen.

"Birdie, I miss you," Karl said, his voice dropping with longing.

A long sigh escaped Kaija. "I miss you too. And I love the flowers, especially the wrapping paper." An indulgent smile spread across her face.

"Do you love me too?" Karl blinked innocently.

The smile vanished from Kaija’s face at once. "Do you seriously want to hear me say that over a phone call like this?"

"Did I not tell you I love you in the note?" Karl scowled, a pout already forming on his face.

"Well, you did tell me that," Kaija said hesitantly, "but I would’ve preferred it more if you told me straight to my face."

Karl’s face went taut with shock, his voice spilling out frantically. "Burn the note! Pretend you didn’t read anything! I’m going to say it to your face first thing after I’m back!"

Indulgent chuckles slipped out of Kaija at his clumsy attempt to recover himself. But the laughter slowly faded, as something else struck her mind.

"Karl." Kaija’s face settled into quiet concern. "But would you still feel the same way about me, if I told you I had feelings for you, but I also had feelings for others too?"

All chaos instantly drained from Karl’s face. His expression went blank at her question, lips pressing tightly together.

"Birdie..." Karl mumbled, his eyes trembling on the screen. She didn’t even have to tell him who those other people were. He could already guess their names well enough.

"Think about it carefully, before you decide whether someone as greedy as me is worth you pouring all your feelings and effort into."

The call fell into a heavy silence. For a while, Karl couldn’t bring himself to look at her on the screen, his gaze locked somewhere else. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

At last, Kaija was the one to break the silence. "I’ve actually gotta run now. I have an interview with Dazzle magazine in two hours."

"Dazzle?" Karl’s gaze shot back at the screen instantly. "Hold on, birdie. This is an important one. You absolutely have to nail this. It’s a great chance for you to land contracts with big brands. Like, top-tier luxury brands. Does the interview come with a photoshoot?"

"Yeah. Not the cover, just a small fashion shoot, according to what Esko told me. I’ll be featured across four pages or so."

"Good, four pages are enough!" Karl exclaimed. "Oh wait, actually, I have contacts there. I’ll make sure they take the best care of you, give you the best questions, alright?"

A quiet sigh slipped out of Kaija. She’d just told him something that most likely had broken his heart, and yet, he was still thinking about taking care of her. She could already feel her own heart cracking instead.

The rest of the call turned into Karl’s meticulous lecturing about what Kaija should do and how she should respond, preparing her for her first-ever magazine interview.

Soon enough, Kaija found herself rushing back downtown once more, and this time toward Dazzle Magazine’s headquarters.

The moment Kaija stepped out of the limousine, all her movement stilled.

At the entrance of the famed building stood a familiar figure in a thick navy winter coat, a cigarette in his hand.

His hair was still light brown, amber eyes bright and gleaming. The same eyes that had taken her breath away four years ago, and the very shade she’d grown wary of.

"Great, now I can’t enter the building without walking past him," Kaija muttered, raising a brow at the sight of Niklas.

"You know that guy?" Esko’s voice came from behind her, filled with curiosity.

"My ex," Kaija replied simply, not even wanting to say the name.

"Peaceful breakup, or hateful breakup?"

"Hateful," Kaija said, and her feet moved forward.

She was fully covered now, her whole face hidden except for the long honey-blonde locks of her hair.

The last time Niklas had seen her, she still had long, straight black hair. If she kept this pace and made sure to pass Niklas as quickly as possible, there was no way he could have recognized her.

And yet, the moment Kaija walked past Niklas, his hand shot out and caught her elbow, stopping her cold.

"Kaija! I want to talk to you," Niklas said, his face etched with urgency.

Kaija blinked a few times beneath the large sunglasses. She wasn’t sure whether she should ignore Niklas and keep walking, or swing her palm across his face.

In the end, Kaija didn’t have to decide. Esko jumped in the moment he saw Niklas’s hand on her.

"Hey, mister, excuse me!" Esko’s voice rose sharply as he yanked Niklas’s hand off Kaija. "You don’t get to touch my precious superstar without her consent! Now excuse us, we’re in a hurry!"

"No, wait!" Niklas exclaimed. "I know her! She’s my girlfriend!"

Now Kaija couldn’t stay quiet anymore.

"Say what now?" she muttered, smirking beneath the mask. "You say whose girlfriend?"

Niklas froze upon recognizing her voice. He’d only been partly sure before, judging by her frame alone. But now, with that low, sleepy speaking tone, he was completely certain.

"Kaija, please," Niklas pleaded, reaching for her hand again. "I just want to talk to you, face to face, just once!

"I’ve been trying to reach you these past months, but you never returned my messages or calls.

"I tried to find you, even went to your apartment, but you no longer lived there. It was like you vanished.

"Only yesterday, watching TV, I saw you on the Muzik Channel, singing your debut song.

"I was frozen the entire time, Kaija! I almost didn’t recognize you! You with this blonde hair... you in that stunning red dress..."

Niklas swallowed hard at the memory, his voice trembling toward the end.

Still, no reaction came from Kaija toward his passionate speech. She wasn’t even trying to remove her sunglasses to look at him eye to eye. Instead, she yanked her hand free, muttering curtly,

"What are you getting at? Speak clearly. Like my friend said, we’re in a hurry."

Niklas’s face tightened with hurt as her hand slipped from his. His voice rose, no longer caring who heard him.

"Kaija, I’m telling you I’m still in love with you! I love you!"