Before the media could ride the momentum of Laila's exclusive interview and milk it for more headlines, someone noticed that The Avengers' box office numbers had taken an unexpected turn over the past couple of days.
When The Entertainer's Journal published the first installment of Laila's interview, the film's domestic box office in the U.S. suddenly saw a noticeable bump. It wasn't a huge spike, but considering how the numbers had been steadily declining, the sudden rise was definitely eye-catching.
At first, some media outlets joked that the interview must have worked its magic. But when the global numbers started coming in, it became clear this wasn't just a domestic phenomenon—multiple countries had reported similar upticks in ticket sales.
That's when the industry started scratching its heads. The Entertainer's Journal was a U.S.-based publication with limited international reach, so how were foreign box offices climbing too?
After digging into the matter, reporters were stunned by what they uncovered: the rise in ticket sales across various countries had coincided with the news of Laila's upcoming wedding spreading worldwide.
In other words, once word got out that Laila was getting married, the box office numbers suddenly began to soar.
That's when people in the film industry were reminded of an old trick in the marketing playbook—using celebrity gossip as a form of publicity. No matter how many millions are spent on advertising, nothing grabs attention like juicy gossip.
Who's dating whom, who's getting divorced, who's cheating, who's pregnant—people eat that stuff up. And while the gossip is pulling in clicks and headlines, the associated film or TV project gets some bonus exposure too.
Laila's wedding had instantly become the entertainment world's hottest topic. And the fact that she hadn't even tied the knot yet but was already starring in a film challenging the all-time box office record? That only made her seem more impressive.
So really, it was no surprise that more people started showing interest in the movie.
And since the film was still in theaters, the increase in ticket sales was only natural.
As for why box office numbers were rising in multiple key markets—so-called "ticket warehouses"—it was simply because Laila had a stronger fan base in those regions. Her movies always managed to appeal to young people around the world, something even Hollywood envied.
When Anthony saw the media coverage reporting on the renewed box office momentum, he immediately called Laila to take credit.
"Boss, I told you doing the interview was the right move! If you'd agreed to it earlier, your box office would've passed 3 billion by now!"
Laila rolled her eyes and didn't bother responding.
She had zero interest in using her wedding as leverage to boost ticket sales, thank you very much.
If she really wanted to hype herself up, she had plenty of material to work with. Not to brag, but just one photo of her son—little Eli—could send the internet into meltdown. She was certain that her adorably clueless, miniature CEO of a son would have all the mommy fans begging for cuddles, kisses, and lifts into the air.
Then there was Roy. His face. His abs. That post-shower, water-droplet-covered look... Even one photo of that, and half the internet's female population would lose their minds.
But had she ever used any of that for publicity?
No. She hadn't.
All she wanted was a peaceful, private home life. She had no interest in putting everything on display for the world to see.
Her Eastern soul gave her a deep reverence for family, and to preserve that happiness, she'd sacrifice anything—even the top-grossing film of all time.
"If you're done, I'm hanging up."
Laila's voice was lazy and uninterested. She was so over this conversation.
If she had a mental blacklist of people she'd rather not talk to, Anthony was currently in the top three. She didn't want to waste another second on him.
"Wait!" Anthony quickly stopped her. "Boss, about the box office—you're already over 2.8 billion! You're just a little over 100 million away from beating Avatar. Don't you want to push just a little harder? I really think that if we play up the wedding angle, it wouldn't be hard to get there."
Laila's brows furrowed. "Anthony, I don't want to use my personal life for hype—especially not my wedding. This is the last time I'm reminding you: Stick to your job."
Now she was actually angry.
She'd reluctantly agreed to that interview as her final compromise. But she wasn't going to keep backing down for the sake of profits.
Anthony could feel the heat in her tone, and it genuinely confused him. In his mind, Laila had always been the pinnacle of rationality.
Shouldn't it be obvious to someone like her which was more valuable: personal privacy, or claiming the top spot in film history?
But Laila didn't give him a chance to argue—this time she hung up without a word.
Anthony set down the phone, staring at it in stunned confusion.
What was the boss thinking? She was the most rational person he knew—so why was she suddenly being so emotional?
Other people in the industry would milk anything for box office returns. Yet here she was, with the perfect hot topic falling into her lap, and all she wanted to do was stay hidden. What kind of logic was that?
He just couldn't wrap his head around it.
But Laila's tone earlier had been sharp—he knew that if he pushed any further, he'd cross a line. So even though he felt it was a missed opportunity, he decided not to pursue it.
Then, a day or two later, while monitoring online public opinion, he suddenly began to understand where his little boss might be coming from.
In those few days, the internet's obsession with Laila's wedding only kept growing. People were desperate to learn more. And the only source with any real info was The Entertainer's Journal—no other outlet had been granted access to Laila.
The more she hid, the more curious the public became.
The less information people had, the more they threw themselves into speculation. As the hype continued to snowball, rumors began spreading across the internet like wildfire.
Some claimed to be employees at a florist preparing a massive flower order for a VIP client in October—rumored to be Laila.
Others said they'd spotted Roy near a certain church, supposedly scouting the venue for the wedding.
In short, wild speculation was everywhere.
At first, people believed it. Then it all got a little too chaotic. Even multiple flower shops popped up claiming they'd received huge orders—surely no one needed that many flowers?
Then someone claimed that Laila had ordered her wedding dress from their store—only to be immediately debunked.
Hello? Laila's mother was the world-renowned designer Janet. Why would she need anyone else to make her dress?