To let Laila get a good night's sleep, Claire politely declined all the incoming calls, not wanting Laila's well-deserved rest to be disturbed by those calls.
From Janet's call, she finally learned the extent of her mistake from the previous day. Laila's calm demeanor upon returning home did not represent failure; in fact, she had succeeded! The entire world was talking about the Victoria's Secret Angels, Roy's song, and all of this was a miracle created by that girl!
When Laila stretched lazily and walked out of her room, she saw Claire holding a phone receiver in a daze.
"Good morning, Claire," Laila, still wearing her coat, walked toward the kitchen. "Is there something to eat? I'm hungry."
"Good morning," Claire finally reacted and quickly hung up the call she had prepared for Laila's breakfast. "Can you have some steamed dumplings and spicy soup?"
"Huh? What's the occasion today? You actually made spicy soup," Laila looked at the bowl of soup Claire had brought her with surprise. "Aren't you the one who doesn't like this soup? People who used to say it's too spicy to drink are making it voluntarily!"
Claire awkwardly smiled. She didn't want to admit that she had prepared dishes Laila liked but rarely ate because she had assumed Laila failed after seeing her yesterday. But now...
She had succeeded! And she had succeeded so remarkably!
If you were to ask what topics were currently dominating the world of entertainment, fashion, music, and public interest, every one of them was related to Laila. Even in the business world, reports about her were everywhere. If this wasn't considered a success, she didn't know what success was.
Laila happily enjoyed her Chinese breakfast while casually flipping through the newspaper.
The content on the major pages was not much different from what she had expected. It was all praise and admiration, with the occasional criticism being insignificant and not garnering much attention.
Everything seemed perfect, didn't it?
However, her mood quickly turned gloomy when she noticed a small article placed inconspicuously in one corner. It was just a few lines long and reported that a Saudi Arabian prince had caused tensions between two families and economic turmoil in the country due to his unilateral decision to cancel his engagement with his fiancée, which had been resolved only after the intervention of the king.
With an accompanying photo, the prince dressed in white robes was none other than Prince Al Nadeem, whom Laila was all too familiar with. It was clear who he had been in contact with, as there was no other possibility except for Faiza.
This article was published as a piece of trivial news, mainly because Faiza and Al Nadeem had clashed in the American media some time ago due to Laila's involvement. The newspaper didn't consider it a significant event; after all, Saudi Arabia was a small country, and even if a prince and king were making a fuss, it had nothing to do with the United States.
But after reading the article, Laila had a bad feeling. She wasn't a conceited person, so why did she think that these two people contacting each other had something to do with her?
As if confirming her suspicions, the phone suddenly rang.
"Laila, it's Mr. Oswald," Claire handed her the phone.
Laila thanked her and answered, "Hello, Grandfather, it's Laila."
"Laila, I have a serious question to ask you, and I hope you'll answer me with the utmost seriousness," Mr. Oswald's solemn voice came through from the other end.
Laila's face turned serious in response to his tone. "Alright."
"Now, Prince Al Nadeem's father is here with me, and he has come to propose a marriage alliance," he began.
He didn't finish his sentence before a startled Laila interrupted, "Grandfather!" Without even guessing, she knew what he was going to say next, and it was terrifying. She had just managed to step out of the horror movie; did she have to turn her surroundings into a horror movie scene as well?
At this point, she didn't even comment on the Chinese term "marriage alliance" used in her grandfather's conversation. With her being his only granddaughter, there was simply no other option besides her.
After hearing what had been reported in the newspaper and then hearing her grandfather's words, she had a pretty good idea of what had happened.
"That day, you heard what my mother and I said, didn't you? Do I really need to repeat it?" With Prince Al Nadeem? Please, someone, get her a broom to sweep away the goosebumps on the floor!
It wasn't just that she didn't feel any connection with the prince; the idea of marrying into a country where women had no rights was absolutely intolerable to her.
Her grandfather had always supported her, and she assumed he was calling to give the other party a face. Otherwise, he would have refused outright long ago.
As expected, after hearing Laila's words, Oswin's laughter came through the phone. "I understand. By the way, this time's plan was excellent. Leslie wants to invite you to the Victoria's Secret meeting as a shareholder when he gets the chance."
"Oh? They haven't officially claimed the title of the world's number-one brand yet, have they? There are still a few months left in the year. Are they already transferring shares to me now?" Laila raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected Leslie to be so straightforward. However, it made sense since he had lured her into planning for the Victoria's Secret brand with a 20% stake initially.
Oswald laughed heartily. "Even if they haven't yet, they will be next month at the latest! You did exceptionally well this time, and I'm proud of you."
Because there were others around him, he didn't offer more compliments and hung up the phone shortly after a few more words. But before hanging up, he made it clear that he would decline the prince's proposal without hesitation. He refused outright!
Laila could imagine how pleased her grandfather was. While it was good for others to see the qualities of his granddaughter, the idea of marrying her off at just twenty years old was a distant dream. As long as he was alive, he would make sure to keep all those men with dubious intentions far away from Laila!
After hanging up the phone, Laila's mood still hadn't improved. The name Al Nadeem was now associated with trouble in her mind, and if she had a choice, she didn't want to see that person again.
And then there was Faiza...
Laila believed that with Faiza's temperament, after suffering the humiliation of a broken engagement, she would definitely vent all her anger on Laila.
"Damn it!" She couldn't help but curse her bad luck.
When she wasn't in a good mood, she made sure to spread her bad mood to others. That was Laila's motto when it came to dealing with life. So, she got into her car and headed to the company, her face stern as she started her inspection from the first floor. Everyone who saw her was on edge, afraid to even breathe too loudly, not wanting to inadvertently trigger the tension of their boss.