In the night when cars no longer clutter the roads, restaurants have close for the day, and people are resting home, only two people remain awake.
Not once moving from her position, Yue Ling ponder in thoughts of how to begin her story. She had told Lu Tian parts of her stories when they were in City Z, but now....
She looks down at the unlit lantern on the table and touch it.
"When we were in City Z, I told you about of my past."
She pause in her words and gently stroke the side of the lantern.
"What if I told you, that was only part of it?"
Finis.h.i.+ng her question, she did not wait for Lu Tian"s response. She looks away from the unlit lantern and back to Imperial in the distance.
"I...."
Just when she spoke her first word, instead of speaking normally, she choke out the word "I". The memories she had once closed away in her heart floods her mind one after another. It was as if she had gone back to the past to experience everything again.
Lu Tian looks at her and gently touch her cheek.
"If you don"t want to say it, I understand."
Hearing his words, Yue Ling shook her head and she place her hand on the back of his. She looks up at him and faintly smile.
"I want you to know about my life."
She takes a deep breath and moves Lu Tian"s hand away from her cheek. She held his hand with her hand and looks back to Imperial.
"If you look at me, you would see an ordinary woman. You will see me as the model who had retired from the entertainment industry, but what you don"t see is the person I really am."
Yue Ling smile a smile that did not reach her eyes.
"When my mother married my father, she knew who my father really was. She knew the kind of man she married and so did my paternal grandfather.."
"Both my grandfathers were good friends and their ways of seeing life are similar, so marrying their only children to one another was consider the greatest blessing.... I was told that when my mother became pregnant with me, my father was the happiest person in the world. Everyday, he would care for my mother and made sure she was well taken care of."
Talking about her parents, Yue Ling touch her stomach and she caress it. For her child, she will give the world to him or her. No matter what life has in store, she will make sure her child lives a life full of love.
"After my mother gave birth to me, she became busy with work. My father and mother held the same dream, so they often had to leave me. Due to that, a nanny was hired and she took care of me like I was her own. She told me many stories about my father and mother and from those stories, I knew that my parents love me no matter where they were. My nanny truly loved me and never allow others to speak ill about me. If someone did, she would protect me, if someone wanted to hurt me, she would fight back.."
Yue Ling"s expression sadden and she felt a sharp pain in her heart.
"When the tragic news of my parents death came, my nanny was the only person outside of my family who comforted me. One year after my two grandfathers and I buried my parents, I was not allow to see my nanny anymore. I didn"t ask why and just obeyed my elders. However, my nanny wasn"t just a person my parents hired, she is like another grandmother to me and I missed her company every day.. So as little girl, I wanted to see her again... But no matter how much I begged to see her, I was not allow to."
Yue Ling"s eyes turn moist and she sigh a painful smile.
"It wasn"t until later that I learned the reason why I was not allow to see my nanny. I found out that before my parent"s death, her memories were already starting to lapse and it didn"t take long before the news came that she was diagnose with Alzheimer."
Hearing her last word, Lu Tian looks at his wife and seeing the pained look on her face, he felt like someone had stab his heart. He gently squeeze her hand and Yue Ling looks up at him.
"As you might have guessed by now, my nanny was grandmother Nuo and she was also my mother"s nanny."
Yue Ling sigh and she looks at the candle on the table.
"You"re probably thinking why I am telling you about my relations.h.i.+p with Grandmother Nuo, but the Nuo family are consider family to me. They have been working for my paternal grandfather for a long time and I promised to take care of them.... For the love that grandmother Nuo gave me, I will return it with my support."
After she finish talking, silence return and Yue Ling did not speak a word. Neither did Lu Tian. The night wind brush against them making the lose strands of Yue Ling"s hair to slightly flutter.
"Tian....."
Yue Ling finally spoke and broke the silence. She doesn"t look at Lu Tian but continue her words.
"I am not who you think I am....," She looks at Lu Tian and she sigh a small smile. "In this world, there are good people and there are bad people. My paternal grandfather is a man of many powers, but he doted on me so much and never stopped me from doing anything. I was able to live my life like how I wanted and he supported me. Even when I studied fas.h.i.+on and became a model, never once did he come between me and my pa.s.sion. However.... at the end of one"s day, one must always remember their roots."
She slowly turn her body to face Lu Tian and look straight into his dark eyes.
"No matter what I did in life, I never want my family to be in danger. My family is important to me, but I am the heiress of a family with who"s hands are stained with blood..."
Finis.h.i.+ng her words, she let"s go of Lu Tian"s hand and takes a step back from him. However her eyes never left his as she speaks her next words.
"I am the daughter of my father and my father is the son of Fate"s leader."