Chapter 1014 Sonia’s Reasons
Hence, it made Brian feel a little more empathetic. At that thought, he looked at Sonia, his expression becoming 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,” he comforted.
Sonia knew that he was saying these words for her own good, but she still couldn’t accept 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 blamed 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 to comfort 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.”
Saying that, she picked up her glass 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 feel complacent and thought that she was now strong enough to succeed 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 succeed 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 accept things that were different from their imagination.
If she really became conceited and overly self-confident in the future, once she learned that her success 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 success was just an illusion. Because of that, she could reflect on herself even better and prevent herself from becoming 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 glass and accepted 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 similarly, you’ve also enlightened me, so my gratitude isn’t contradictory.”
He laughed heartily. “In that case, I’ll gladly accept 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 glasses.
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 glass 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 relationship 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 glass 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 glass 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 unacceptable.”
“I see.” He nodded. “I understand your troubles, Miss Reed. Indeed, no matter the industry, there will always be more constraints and concepts for women compared to men, and women have to give up much more.”
