Chapter 1014


    Hence, it made Brian feel a little more empathetic. At that thought, he looked at Sonia, his


    expression bing a lot kinder, making him look like a kind elderly man instead of a businessman


    who was here to sign a deal.


    "Don''t get upset, Miss Reed. This is a very realistic question. A person who has no ability,


    connections, or support can''t get far in life. I hope you can understand," heforted.


    Sonia knew that he was saying these words for her own good, but she still couldn''t ept it. It felt


    as if all of her efforts were just a joke. Even though she had worked hard and struggled, what others


    saw was not her efforts, but the influence behind her. Her so-called efforts were worthless in the


    face of this influence and weren''t even worth mentioning.


    "Sonny." At the sight of Sonia biting her lower lip with a pale face, Charles became even more


    worried.


    At the same time, he also med himself for not being as powerful and formidable as Toby, and that


    he could only remain unchanged, so he had been unable to develop the Lane Family even further. If


    not, he could easily help her solve any problems she faced instead of letting her fall into an


    awkward situation like she had


    now.


    "I''m fine, don''t worry." Seeing the concern in his eyes, Sonia forced a smile at him, indicating that


    she was all right.


    However, Charles could clearly tell that she was faking a smile and lying that she was fine. He knew


    that she must be feeling miserable, but he didn''t know how tofort her.


    After taking a breath, Sonia calmed her thoughts and looked at Brian with a smile. "Mr. Smith, thank


    you for enlightening me. Indeed, I feel upset to hear you say that as I always thought that you


    promised to meet me because of my conditions and not because of anyone else. However, you told


    me that you came to see me not because of me, but because of my boyfriend, and that I''m not


    qualified to meet you. To be honest, it was a huge gap from my expectations."


    "I''m really sorry." Brian still apologized.


    Sonia hurriedly waved her hand. "No, you don’t need to apologize to me. In fact, I should thank you


    for telling the truth. Thank you for waking me up and letting me understand that I am far from being


    strong or qualified enough to let others prioritize me. Now, I would like to thank you and give you a


    toast."


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    Saying that, she picked up her ss of wine and stood up.


    At the beginning, she was really happy to hear that the bank was willing to meet with her and had


    truly felt that they agreed because of her. For this reason, she did feelcent and thought that


    she was now strong enough to seed in whatever she wanted to do. She had never thought


    deeply about whether it was really her who had been powerful or if it was because others knew that


    she had Toby backing her. Hence, Brian''s words had reminded her that she was actually not as


    strong as she thought she was. The reason why she could seed in whatever she did was


    actually because of the person supporting her, not because of herself, and that others were treating


    her well because of the person backing her and not out of respect for her. After all, to these people,


    if she didn''t have Toby supporting her, she was just a little ant and was far from being qualified to


    make them happily do whatever she said.


    It was his words that woke Sonia up and made her see the true nature of things now. Otherwise,


    she would remain clueless and think that everything was going well because of her own strength. In


    the end, if she became more blindly confident and even got ahead of herself, it would be even more


    terrifying. After all, a conceited person had no way to ept things that were different from their


    imagination.


    If she really became conceited and overly self-confident in the future, once she learned that her


    sess was not because of her own capability, but because of Toby, she might have a breakdown


    and even do something unthinkable. There was no need to say more about how terrible it was to


    meet someone conceited.


    It was really fortunate that Brian appeared and gave her a wake-up call, making her understand


    how weak she actually was, and that her so-called sess was just an illusion. Because of that,


    she could reflect on herself even better and prevent herself from bing an arrogant person in


    the future. Hence, why wouldn''t she want to thank him?


    Brian could tell that Sonia''s gratitude was sincere and not mere lip service, which improved his


    impression of her. His smile turned kinder as he raised his ss and epted her toast. "Thank


    you, Miss Reed. In fact, you don''t have to thank me. I only said that for the sake of my business." "I


    know." Sonia took a sip of wine and replied with a smile, "You''re doing it for your business, but


    simrly, you''ve also enlightened me, so my gratitude isn''t contradictory."


    Heughed heartily. "In that case, I''ll dly ept your gratitude."


    "Of course." Sonia nodded with a smile.


    When Charles saw her smiling naturally without a trace of the gloom she had shown earlier, he


    breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the bottle of wine to refill their sses.


    After Brian thanked Charles, he looked at Sonia and said, "Miss Reed, you haven’t answered me


    yet. Why do you want to borrow money from our bank instead of President Fuller?"


    Charles sat back in his chair once he was done pouring the wine. He then looked at Sonia as he


    wondered how she would answer the question.


    Would she answer truthfully or find another excuse?


    Shetwirled the wine ss in her hand and did not answer immediately.


    Instead, she remained silent for a long time before she replied, "Actually, the reason is quite simple.


    I Just don''t want to rely on him."


    "Oh?" Brian raised an eyebrow. "You don’t want to rely on President Fuller?" "Yeah."


    "Why?" He straightened his posture and asked, "Could it be that you and President Fuller aren''t


    intending to tie the knot?"


    "Of course not." Sonia shook her head. "I''ve already told him that as long as our rtionship doesn’t


    change, we’ll definitely remarry, but just not for the time being.”


    "Since you will eventually get to that step, what do you mean by not relying on President Fuller?"


    Brian swirled his ss as he asked, "He’s your lover and future husband, so isn''t it normal for you to


    rely on him?"


    Sonia caressed her wine ss and looked at the bright red liquid inside with a faint smile at the


    corner of her mouth. "Mr. Smith, you’re also aware that I manage a business by myself. If I was


    single, or a helpless woman, I would naturally have no qualms about relying on him. However, I


    don''t want to be weak and helpless. I want to make Paradigm Co. thrive, and I want to return the


    company to its former glory with my power, so I can''t rely on him. I don''t want outsiders to think


    about me being Toby''s woman instead of my capabilities whenever Paradigm Co. is mentioned, and


    that I relied on Toby to prosper Paradigm Co. For me, that is uneptable."


    "I see." He nodded. "I understand your troubles, Miss Reed. Indeed, no matter the industry, there


    will always be more constraints and concepts for womenpared to men, and women have to


    give up much more."