She had completely forgotten her scheduled communication with the Eastern side. Thankfully, she came up with an excuse just in time to smooth things over. Otherwise, she didn't even dare imagine what kind of impression she would've left in her idol's mind.
Is this what they mean by "pregnancy brain lasting three years"?
Oh god—how was she going to survive the remaining two?
Seeing her daughter still in a dazed state, Janet didn't hesitate to assert her dominance. With a mighty sweep, she yanked the blanket off Laila.
"You're getting married in a week and you're still asking me if there's anything left to do?!"
Laila looked helplessly at her mother. "You know Roy's taken over all the wedding planning. He doesn't tell me anything and won't let me help. What else can I do?"
Obviously, she was just supposed to show up on the day and be a beautiful bride!
Janet gave her a sharp glare, full of disappointed fury.
"Only someone like Roy would treat you like a treasure! He's handling the wedding, sure—but does that mean the bride herself has nothing to do?"
"Is there…?" Laila genuinely couldn't think of anything.
The wedding dress was being handled by her mother. She'd also ordered a traditional Eastern outfit. Jewelry sets were all picked out to match.
What else was there to prepare?
Janet's mouth twitched a few times—then she gave up trying to reason and just shoved Laila into the bathroom.
A woman's wedding is the most important day of her life!
How could she just sit around and wait to be a bride?!
This day would become one of her most beautiful memories, something to cherish for the rest of her life. And for that memory to be flawless, she had to put in effort!
And so, over the next week, Janet made sure Laila fully understood what it meant to "treat yourself well" as a woman.
Skin treatments, deep-sea mud wraps, volcanic clay masks, massages, spa therapy, and a long list of beauty rituals Laila had never even heard of—she was dragged through all of them in one week.
To ensure her daughter looked flawless for her big day, Janet even called up Louise, asking her not to assign any work to Laila.
At least until the wedding was over, she wanted her daughter to be fully present and focused.
Janet had made mistakes when she was young—throwing everything away for love, not even having a wedding worth remembering.
Because of that regret, she was determined to make sure her daughter had everything she had missed out on.
Louise, of course, had no objections. Even if she was swamped and dead on her feet, she was absolutely going to take over the boss's workload during this time.
Weddings were not something to be taken lightly!
What did surprise her, though, was how unprepared Laila had been up to this point.
To be honest, Laila didn't have much patience for all of this.
But seeing how Janet fussed over her, looking more anxious than the bride herself, she decided to just go along with it.
Besides the beauty treatments, Janet also dragged her out to shop for everything under the sun.
Some items were things she thought were necessary. Others, she admitted, weren't—but insisted Laila would like them anyway.
In short, it was a buy, buy, buy spree.
If something caught her eye, it was bought on the spot.
Jewelry and accessories were delivered straight to the house for Laila to choose from.
Watching her mother swipe card after card, Laila had a sudden and profound realization about the limits of her own imagination.
So this is how money can be spent…
All her life, Laila had never really chased material pleasures.
Her clothes were designed and made by her mother—she was never short on fashion.
Food and drink were handled by the family's housekeeper—nothing to worry about there.
Most of her daily needs were taken care of by Roy, her grandfather, or Janet, who often sent gifts.
So aside from movie-related investments or business ventures, she rarely had anything to spend money on.
This past week felt like stepping through a gateway into an entirely different world.
She finally understood: this was how the real heiresses of wealthy families lived—lavishly.
Watching her mother swipe cards without even glancing at the price tags made Laila wince inwardly.
God knows how many tens of thousands of dollars disappeared with each swipe?
Janet noticed her daughter's strange expression and thought she was just stressed about the wedding.
"Don't pull that long face. Smile more—look like a proper bride!
Roy's handling everything. Can't you trust him?
That boy grew up before my eyes. He's not that little troublemaker from ten years ago!"
She chuckled at her own words.
She remembered clearly how, back then, young Roy constantly caused trouble—and Laila had to clean up after him every time.
He'd even been hauled into the police station more than once.
Who would've thought that rebellious little brat would grow into a real man in just over a decade?
He'd become much more mature, and even more handsome and charismatic.
In fact, several young designers at her company would stare at his portraits or posters whenever they hit creative blocks.
They said imagining the kind of outfit that could capture his attention helped them come up with better designs.
Funny thing was—it actually worked.
Janet had seen quite a few impressive pieces born from that strange source of inspiration.
If her husband, Mr. Quentin, hadn't insisted on using his photo as her office portrait, she might've tried the method herself.
All the time and money hadn't gone to waste.
Touching her now-soft, dewy cheeks and flawless skin, Laila couldn't even describe her shock.
Even without makeup, she looked radiant enough to be on a magazine cover.
Meanwhile, outside the headquarters of Dragon Soul Films, the reporters who'd been staking out the building finally noticed—Laila had been missing for several days!
Why camp outside? For two reasons:
Her new film, Silence, had drawn massive public attention.
People wanted updates, and reporters were eager to dig up anything they could.
It was already several days into October.
Laila had previously said in an interview that she was going to be an "October bride"—meaning her wedding with Roy was happening this month.
And that wedding wasn't just any wedding.
Laila—Hollywood's top director.
Roy—one of the world's sexiest and most talented actors.
Their union was, without question, the biggest event in the film and entertainment industries.
Especially since Laila also carried the title of heir to the Moran family—a powerful legacy that meant she would one day inherit a global business empire.
Naturally, all those associated with the Moran were watching closely.
And the most eager watchers?
The fans.
Laila and Roy had massive followings around the world.
Some loved Laila's films.
Some loved Roy's performances.
Some simply adored their fairytale romance.
And for others, it was enough that the two of them were just so damn good-looking.
Whatever the reason, millions of fans were hanging onto their every move.
Now, granted, it wasn't unusual for Laila to vanish from the company for a few days.
That usually happened during film shoots.
But during normal times?
This long disappearance was very rare.