Layla woke up the next morning as her maid opened her curtains and light flood into the room. She sat up, yawned and stretched. Suddenly the events of last night came flooding to her and she glanced at the bed next to her only to find that it was empty. Jeff must have left earlier that morning before the maid got there. Layla inwardly let out a sigh of relief. It would have been unbelievable bad if she had caught Layla sleeping with a strange man, not to mention a serial killer.

"Good morning Mistress. Did you sleep well?" She asked with a cheery smile.

"Yes very well thank you." Layla lied.

"I am glad. You're Father wishes to speak with you as soon as you are ready. He said that it is important." Layla felt herself panic a little. Did he know? No, she thought, he couldn't possibly know.

"I see thank you for telling me." Layla said getting up, hiding her slight inner panic. Layla's maid helped her dress into a beautiful black dress that reached to the floor and a silver necklace increased with black diamonds. Nothing she had picked of course but she did like the dress. She liked the way it made her blue eyes stand out and the way it clung to her perfect figure. Her hair was put up in a neat and delicate bun. There was a knock at the door and the live in make up artist came into the room. She was a blonde haired woman in her late twenties, a perfect complexion due to her perfectly applied makeup and a small baby bump underneath her slightly baggy but stylish clothes. She smiled when she was Layla, for some reason the woman had always been rather fond of her.

"Good morning Layla." She said using her first name. Unlike Layla's maid, Cathy, the make up artist had given in to her request of calling her by her first name instead of mistress.

"Good morning Cathy." Layla's maid bowed slightly and left the room without another word. Cathy set her equipment down and looked at Layla who sat at her makeup table looking at herself in the mirror opposite her.

"Have you been sleeping well?" Cathy asked her taking out the things she needed.

"Yes fine thank you, why?" Layla asked her innocently.

"Oh nothing it's just that you've got slight bags under your eyes. Perhaps that it just worry, you are getting married soon after all." She said with an excited grin. "You're going to look even more gorgeous than you do now on your wedding day. If that's even possible. Oh and your Mother said that I could do your makeup on that day too. I've already ordered my dress and everything, I just hope I can still fit in it when the time comes. He's going to be a pretty big baby..." Layla let her mind trail off not wanting to listen to her ramble on about anything and everything for the next half an hour. She found her mind travelling to Jeff. Wondering if her was okay, where he was and if he was coming back to see her tonight. There was a lot of guesswork when it came to him. He said that she knew him better than anyone and yet she still feel like she knew hardly anything. Maybe you just didn't get to know someone like Jeff but that thought made her heart sink a little...

"Francis is coming over again today with a surprise." Said her Mother over the dinner table with they were all having breakfast.

"And what would that be?" Layla said not really interested.

"You're engagment ring." She said with an excited face. Anyone would have thought that she was the one getting married with the way she was acting. "He got it from Germany when he went there a few days ago. It was a little big though so he had it made smaller to fit you better. Honestly he's such a romantic." She cooed. He was far from that, Layla thought. The guy had proposed to her without a ring in the first place, he hadn't even got it yet. It didn't really matter to Layla but it annoyed her that a guy that seemed to obsessed over tradition the other day would propose without a ring. Layla wouldn't have cared except she really didn't want to wear the thing. It would just be a constant reminder that she was marrying him. It would make it more official and Layla really didn't want that.

"I see and when will he be coming round?" Layla asked.

"In a few hours so I thought that you and I could go into the ballroom and practise your walk. You have to look perfect when walking down the aisle. All eyes will be on you." Her Mother said. "I remember my wedding day. Walking down that aisle is the best feeling a woman can have."

"Perhaps it is but surely that only feels good when the man that waiting for you at the altar is someone you actually love." Layla blurted out. Both her parents looked at her with a surprise face. It was unlike her to ever say anything like that and Layla regretted it as soon as it came out of her mouth. It had sort of just come out without her even registering what she was about to say before she said it. For the first time it was like she had no control over her mouth at all.

"Layla never let me hear you say something like that again." Her Mother said angrily.

"I understand you might not like this but it is your duty as my daughter to do as you are told. You have to marry Frances so that the company can grow." Her Father told her sternly.

"Maybe I don't want the company to grow. Maybe I no longer want to be nothing but a tool for you to use to expand your company that you love more than your own daughter."

"Layla!" Her Mother shouted angirly. Layla instantly fell quiet. No one made a sound for a few mintues, Layla looked only down at her plate not wanting to meet her parents angry gazes. "Go back to you room and stay there until Frances arrives. I'll have a maid come and get you when he does and maybe then you will have calmed down a bit and act like the Layla that we all know and love." She said rather quietly.

"Yes Mother..." Was all Layla manages to say and she stood up and left the room without another word...