Page 79 of Nathan
Liv, who was sitting next to me, placed her hand on my elbow. “We’re not trying to come between you and the woman you love. It’s just that we worry about the repercussions your relationship with her has on our family. Did you talk to Atlas?”
“No, I haven’t talked to him or Maximum after I got back from Sweden.” I stood up, preparing to leave. “I’m sorry for the pain this situation is causing you all. But I would have expected you to know that I could never hurt a woman and that Serena wouldn’t have gone with me to Sweden if she didn’t feel safe with me. The notion that I would kidnap her is insulting.”
“Yes, of course, it is,” Liv hurried to say. “No one thought that. We just want what’s best for you.”
“Then you will respect that I won’t let the media or our families and friends get between us.” I rose from my chair to underline that it wasn’t open for discussion, but on the inside, I didn’t feel as confident as I sounded. If my closest family didn’t support me, then I could easily imagine the resistance Serena would meet from family and friends who only knew about me from the media.
They all watched me with serious expressions in a moment of silence.
“Can we close this discussion?” My tone was softer as a bridge to change the subject and move on to something safer.
“I have one last question,” Lumi said low and leaned forward. “Did you tell Serena about your past? Does she know about the Red Manor and us? And what about the way your mother died, how did she feel about that?”
My Adam’s apple bobbed in my throat.
“You didn’t tell her, did you?” Lumi concluded.
“She knows my parents are dead and that I was adopted.”
Charles groaned and rubbed his face. “Nathan…”
My hands flew in the air. “It’s not an easy thing to tell someone.”
Liv got up, her eyes shining with sincere sympathy. “If Serena hasn’t already found out, she will soon. It’s all over the media.”
“Surely, notallof it,” I said with disbelief.
“Yes! Even Jeremy Greensbury called Charles for a comment,” Liv said in a grave tone. “Jeremy isn’t a gossip reporter. He writes for theFinancial Times, so, yes, it’s everywhere.”
Charles held a piece of orange to his mouth but before biting into it, he added, “He’s doing a piece called The Tragic Story of the Robertson Family.”
“You’re joking,” I exclaimed.
“No, tell him, Charles.”
Charles chewed a few times before swallowing the orange piece. “It’s true. I spoke to Jeremy. He’ll tell the backstory of my time in the Manor, which isn’t hard to research with all the articles from after the mass murder. His focus will be on the potential effect that this media scandal can have on Solver Industries. The biggest problem is the timing of it. Atlas has just taken on the biggest position of his life. Being the CEO of one of the largest business empires in the world is no easy task, and having every one talking about his psychopathic mass-murderer father won’t help him.”
“Perhaps it will,” Damian interrupted Charles. “I mean, all those suits will know not to fock with Atlas, won’t they?”
Charles frowned and seemed to consider it, but I didn’t wait for his answer. The reality of Serena’s learning about my sordid past from the media made me sick. Why hadn’t I told her about it when I had the chance? Turning on my heel, I headed for the door speaking over my shoulder. “I need to make a call. I’ll be back.”
