Page 88 of Atlas
“So you think that he bought into his lies?”
“Yes. At least some of them.”
“How old were you when your mother moved in with Conor?”
“I was around four. My mother had me when she was twenty, and from what she told me, I was the result of an affair between herself and her much older professor.” Lumi looked up. “Despite his declarations of love, he didn’t marry my mom. Or I should say he couldn’t. It turned out he was already married, and so I was a threat to both his position at the university and his marriage. My mother sacrificed so much to have me…” Trailing off, Lumi turned her head and looked at me. “I once found a letter in my mother’s drawer. It was the letter where my grandfather banned her from ever coming home again. He shamed her for succumbing to cheap lust, and raged that I would be of mixed race, like a simple street dog.”
“Wow.”
“Conor was five years older than my mother, and I think he recognized how incredibly smart she was and that she could be of benefit to him, since she was pliable and desperate to find a new family.”
“And you, Lumi? Are you pliable?”
She snorted. “I think I used to be. Conor had a way of getting us all to do his bidding, but after I left the Manor, I was a changed person.”
“In what way?”
“I have trust issues.”
“That’s understandable.”
“People bore me.”
“Do I bore you?”
“No.” She tilted her head. “I mean, normal people bore me.”
“And I’m not normal?”
“No, you’re not. You’re not looking down at your phone every five seconds like it’s a safety blanket. You can talk about other things than what you saw on the telly, and you ask intelligent questions. Those qualities alone make you stand out.”
“Thank you.” I smiled at her.
“So, tell me. What’s going on between you and Atlas?”
I gave her the short answer. “I like him.”
“Hmm.” She studied me. “What do you think of his obsession with finding answers?”
“I think it’s a coping mechanism. Atlas fears that his biological link to his father could mean that he’s evil, too, and he wants to know what he’s up against.”
Lumi gave a sound of agreement. “Do you think he’ll ever stop searching for understanding?”
“Maybe when he finds peace with himself.”
“So, never?”
I shrugged. “He might run out of money at one point.”
Lumi smiled. “Not as long as he has me in his life. I’m helping all my siblings optimize their finances. Attracting money is my superpower.”
“Then I can see why Charles mentioned that Solver Industries is lucky to have you as a CFO.”
“It’s getting cold.” Lumi rose from the bench. “Did you get the answers you were looking for?”
“Yes, thank you.”
We walked back toward the house. “About Atlas…”
