Sophia gently lifted the corner of her lips and nced at Zachary. He was still watching her with encouraging eyes, so she let a smile spread across her face. Sophia hesitated for a moment before saying, "Mr. Walker, we can still be friends." "Thank you," Sky replied, his eyes reddening slightly.

    He lowered his gaze, trying to control his emotions. When he hade here, he hadn''t dared to hope that Sophia would still be willing to treat him kindly.

    He had thought that as soon as they met, she would p him across the face, then berate and tell him to go to hell, calling him a beast unworthy of living in this world.

    However, Sophia was so calm that it caught him off guard.

    "Mr. Walker, since Sophia and I have chosen to have you released early, you can rest assured that any hatred we held against you has lessened," Zachary added.

    Zachary could see what was going through Sky''s mind, so he didn''t hesitate to be blunt. "Sophia wants you to help her with something. Once you do, all the grudges and animosity between you two will be wiped clean."

    Zachary could tell what was on Sky''s mind, so he didn''t hold back. "As for whether you''ll be friends moving forward, that''s hard to say. The future''s uncertain, and things change at the drop of a hat. For now, Sophia is willing to just be regr friends with you."

    Tears welled up in Sky''s eyes as he looked up and nodded. "Thank you, Sophia, for giving me this chance."

    Sophia took a sip of water and said, "When I was at the Walker residence, you were kind to me."

    However, that kindness was nothingpared to the maliciousness Emma had shown her.

    Still, Sophia couldn''t forget that Sky had once shown her some kindness when she was upset.

    Sophia wasn''t as magnanimous as she appeared. She thought about how she had pretended to be Natalie and saved Marcus, yet Natalie had forgiven her so easily. Meanwhile, she had never shown any kindness toward Natalie.

    Sky was Natalie''s brother, and Natalie had never asked her to show him any mercy. But after giving it some thought, Sophia ultimately decided not topletely destroy him.

    Even if she wanted to, she didn''t have the power to do so.

    It would be better to use Sky''s sense of guilt to her advantage and make him a real friend.

    Samuel had returned to Dithoria. Over the years, he had been a beneficiary of the Sinir family and had his own business abroad.

    Logically, if Samuel had any guilt or gratitude, he wouldn''tpete with Sophia for Sinir Group or utter such hurtful words.

    Yet, Samuel not only refrained from that, but also directed various malicious and hurtful remarks at her.

    After finishing her water, Sophia looked at Sky with a calm gaze. "I''ve mostly healed from the past. I hope we can be friends again."

    Sky''s eyes reddened slightly. "Alright, I will. Sophia, I''m truly sorry for what I did. From now on, if you ever need anything from me, just say the word. Whether it''s atonement orpensation, I will agree to your request without hesitation, as long as it''s something I can do."

    Sophia gave a small smile and nodded. "The reason I asked to meet you today is because I need your help. I''m not some saint who can forgive and forget just like that. The reason I had Natalie talk to awyer and help get you out early was because I want something from you."

    Sophia took out a photo of Samuel and handed it to Sky. "This is Samuel, my older brother. He was sent abroad when we were young, so you may not know much about him. Zachary will fill you in on the details, and then you should understand my request."

    She turned to Zachary. "Zachary, go ahead and exin it to Mr. Walker." "Alright," Zachary said as he poured Sky a ss of water. "Samuel originally came to Dithoria with Sierra''s family for Natalie and Marcus''s wedding.

    "Before he even arrived in Dithoria, he started contacting Sophia. Somehow, he found out about everything that had happened to her and said a lot of hurtful things.

    "As her own brother, he didn''t stand by or sympathize with her. Instead, he med her. Samuel even went as far as to say that he would fight Sophia for control of Sinir Group. Sophia isn''t scared of him, but he''s just too annoying."

    He paused briefly before continuing, "By the way, Samuel is still in the hospital. Marcus'' people broke his leg, but he hasn''t reported it to the authorities. He''s too scared to go after Marcus, so he''s staying in the hospital, ming everything on Sophia. He''s even threatening to kill her once he''s healed. I''m Sophia''s boyfriend, but she doesn''t want me getting involved in this."

    Zachary and Sophia were upfront. They made it clear from the start what they wanted from Sky.

    Zachary said frankly, "Since Sophia doesn''t want me getting involved, we''ve decided to have you handle Samuel. The best way to deal with him is to get him out of the country and make sure he can never return to Dithoria."

    Sophia added, "By the way, Sierra is the girl my mom adopted when she was younger. She used to be known as Sierra Sinir. She went abroad with Samuel when they were kids, and after growing up overseas, the two of them got married.

    "With Marcus'' help, Sierra''s birth parents were able to find her. Now that she''s seen Samuel''s true, vicious side, she''s trying to divorce him. But since they got married overseas, it''s not easy to get divorced here in Dithoria, so she''ll probably need help too."

    Sky nodded thoughtfully after hearing this. "Got it. I understand your intentions now. Sophia, Mr. Holt, I appreciate your honesty."

    Sophia looked at him and asked, "Sky, aren''t you angry that we''re using you?"

    Sky gave a slight smile. Since Sophia and Zachary had been open with him, he decided to be just as candid. "Sophia, I owe you. You''re giving me this chance, for which I''m grateful. How could I be upset? Oh, there''s one more thing I need to tell you."

    Sky took out a project proposal from William, handing it to her. "Take a look at this project. I''m thinking of coborating with Sinir Group on this."

    Sophia epted the folder, but she quickly realized that she didn''t understand much of it. Back when Ivan was still around, he never let her learn anything about business.

    After she inherited Sinir Group, Marcus brought in a professional team to manage everything. All she ever got was a monthly report showing profit or loss.

    Now that Sky was offering her a project, Sophia didn''t understand any of it. After flipping through it briefly, she handed it over to Zachary. "Zachary, can you look at this for me? I don''t understand."

    "Sure," Zachary said as he took the proposal and carefully went through it.

    At the end of the proposal, there was a draft of the contract. He read through it and closed the document.

    "Mr. Walker, are you trying to give Sophia free money with this deal?"