"She's not suitable for you." Faced with Zach's doubts, Victor appeared ruthless. "Find someone else. Don't come looking for her again."
"I think she's perfect. She's the only one I like. Uncle Victor, I know you disagree with me being with her, but you should understand that I've waited six years for marrying her. How can I suddenly give her up?" Zach reluctantly expressed.
Victor felt a headache when he heard the words "marrying her." He knew Sophia was not easy to deal with, and because of that, he would never agree to Zach pursuing her.
"Later, I will talk to your father. Then you can repeat what you just said to him," Victor didn't want to hear Zach's love story with Sophia. He heartlessly instructed David to send Zach away.
Zach stubbornly refused to leave. "Uncle Victor, you promised to help me before!"
Victor's expression turned displeased. "Leave."
"Uncle Victor..." Zach pleaded, "This is the last time I'm asking you. Please help me, let me bring her to work at my company. You know, my father likes capable people. I will groom Sophia to be a suitable daughter-in-law for the Carter family. I believe my father will also change his opinion of her. Uncle Victor, my happiness depends on you. Please don't be so heartless!"
Zach was willing to do anything for Sophia.
Beside them, David couldn't help but glance at the angry Victor and thought to himself, 'Oh no. Mr. Carter isn't here to ask for help, he's clearly here to take her away! Mr. Hastings finally found himself a female assistant after all these years. How could he let her go?'
Unable to resist, he reminded, "Mr. Carter, Mr. Hastings is right. We all know you like Sophia, but you can't take her away. It's better to listen to Mr. Hastings and not contact her anymore. Let's go. Mr. Hastings still has work to do. You staying here will affect him."
David directly pulled Zach away. As he left, he still called out Sophia's name.
People in the office shifted their gaze towards Sophia, their eyes filled with curiosity. She was watched by everyone for the entire afternoon. Finally, she waited until nightfall. As she was getting ready to leave, the sound of high heels clacking caught Sophia's attention.
"Ms. Jessica, why are you here?" Megan was the first to approach, speaking with great respect.
Jessica smiled gently and said in a soft voice, "I just got off work and bought some coffee to come and see you all, one cup each."
"Thank you, Ms. Jessica." Megan thanked her repeatedly and distributed the coffee.
Jessica noticed that the door to the CEO's office was closed and asked in a low voice, "Is Mr. Hastings still busy?"
"Yes, he's discussing plans with a few managers. It's been almost half an hour," Megan answered.
Jessica nodded and smiled, then walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. "I won't disturb him for now. You all go ahead and continue with your work."
"Okay," Megan glanced at the two cups of coffee in Jessica's hands and said to someone nearby, "Sophia, come and take a cup."
"Thank you," Sophia stood up to take the coffee.
Sitting across from Sophia at her desk, Jessica was shocked when their eyes met. Jessica froze! She couldn't believe it and furrowed her brow, asking Megan, "How is she here?"
Sophia, who also saw Jessica, never expected to meet her in this situation. She placed the coffee she had just received on the table without drinking it.
Megan felt puzzled. "Do you two know each other?"
"We don't know each other!" Jessica quickly denied, and asked, "I'm just curious about why there's a new person here."
Megan explained with a smile, "This is Sophia, who was just promoted today. She performed excellently at the grassroots level and was promoted by Mr. Hastings as an assistant."
"Mr. Hastings' assistant?" Jessica's smile slowly stiffened!
Megan nodded. "Yes, Mr. Hastings rarely hires female assistants. She must be capable."
Jessica couldn't smile anymore. Her eyes were fixed on Sophia. She felt like killing her, but Jessica held back and pretended not to care, sarcastically saying, "Judging from her appearance, she looks like she's from the countryside. Aadelha Group is such a big company, there must be plenty of outstanding assistants available. Is your department short of people? How did you end up with someone like her?"
Jessica's voice was loud enough for others to hear, crisp and clear, drawing the attention of those around them. It was the first time they had seen Victor's future wife scolding someone!
Her words were so sharp!
They thought Sophia must not be able to handle it. If it were them being humiliated like this, they would feel very ashamed!
However, Sophia maintained her usual smile and calmly said, "What's wrong with being from the countryside, Ms. Jessica? If I remember correctly, you are not from a prestigious background either."
"It's none of your business where I come from!" Jessica retorted angrily. She hated it when people brought up her background.
Sophia was determined not to back down. "Ms. Jessica, I just want to remind you that commoners cannot become princesses. By humiliating me, you are humiliating yourself as well. Ms. Jessica, please show some respect when speaking to others, so people don't think you are uncultured."
"You!" Jessica's face twisted in anger. She was about to confront Sophia when she saw Victor walking out of his office. She quickly ran up to him, tears in her eyes. "Victor, your assistant is bullying me!"
Victor looked at her coldly. The entire department looked down, avoiding eye contact. Only Sophia held her head up high, showing no fear, and questioned Jessica, "How did I bully you?"
"As Mr. Hastings' assistant, you said his future wife lacks manners. That's bullying me," Jessica pitifully said to Victor. "Victor, I don't like her. Can you fire her, please?"
Her words shocked the entire department. They couldn't help but steal a glance at Sophia. She was the first one to face termination right after a promotion!
They realized that they should not offend Jessica, so they chose silence. Victor nodded. "It is indeed inappropriate for a subordinate to offend their superior. Apologize to her."
There was no doubt he was speaking to Sophia.
Sophia clenched her fists. "I did nothing wrong. Why should I apologize?"
"If you continue to argue, I'll deduct a month's salary," Victor said ruthlessly.
Sophia was extremely dissatisfied.
Jessica, who was initially very afraid, rarely saw Victor standing up for her. She was deeply moved and thought, 'Maybe I was overthinking. Victor still cares about me. How could he possibly like Sophia, a woman who has had a child?'
With Victor's support, Jessica boldly said, "Did you hear that? Apologize to me!"
A faint blush appeared on Sophia's delicate cheeks. She bit her lip and remained silent.
Jessica knew her temperament. She knew Sophia wouldn't easily admit fault, so she said to Victor, "Your new assistant is not obedient at all. This kind of person is a troublemaker to keep in the company."
Victor looked at Sophia coldly, his sharp gaze intimidating.
Sophia stubbornly kept silent.
Jessica smiled and said, "If you can't handle it, resign and leave the company. No one will miss you."