Lucky Star

"Where do you want to talk Mummy?" Natalia asked as she beamed a bright smile towards her mother.

"Let's go to my room." De Xi said with a doting smile as she and Natalia left the study to go downstairs, to the second floor where De Xi's room was present.

De Xi's room was not on the opposite side of Natalia's room, with her room occupying the whole side of the second floor, right below the library.

The mother-daughter duo entered De Xi's room after briefly stopping outside to enjoy the melody James was playing downstairs.

"Brother James, improved so much from the morning, did you suggest any changes, Mummy?" Natalia asked curiously as she entered her mother's room.

"I did. Settle down on the bed sweetheart, I'll grab something first and join on the bed quickly." De Xi said with a warm smile.

She then walked towards her walk-in closet which was attached to the left adjacent wall of her bedroom door.

After a few moments, De Xi emerged from the walk-in closet holding a big black leather bag in her hands.

"What is it, Mummy?" Natalia asked curiously, as De Xi placed the bag on the bed and sat down beside Natalia.

"Little Princess..." De Xi started but paused immediately not knowing where to begin from.

"Yes Mummy," Natalia said with a warm and understanding smile as if she could see the internal conflict her mother was going through.

Her warm and understanding smile gave De Xi the much-needed and courage and encouragement she needed at the moment.

"Little Princess, were you never curious about your biological father or blood relatives?" De Xi asked hesitantly and cautiously.

Natalia was momentarily stunned before she looked towards her mother with surprise and many other emotions mixed with it in her deep black orbs.

"Mummy never talked about them, so I was never curious about them either. The people I have now are enough for me Mummy." Natalia said with a small smile, quickly overcoming her previous surprise.

De Xi silently looked towards her daughter, the more she saw the comforting smile her daughter was giving her the more her heart pricked.

"Guess, I'm going to tell you about them now." De Xi said after taking a deep breath and calming down her tumultuous heart.

She opened the black leather bag, filled with many different things. Cards, dried flowers, loose pictures, photo albums, velvet boxes containing precious things, and many more.

"Mummy... These are?" Natalia looked at the things in shock and uncertainty.

"All the memories and sovereigns from that part of my life which was hidden from you all these years." De Xi said calmly, keeping her voice as stable as possible despite the overwhelming emotions choking down on her.

"Why are you suddenly... Telling me about them Mummy? Is there some... problem?" Natalia asked hesitantly, fear clear in her eyes.

De Xi chuckled softly, understanding where Natalia was driving at.

"I have a Great Family and Good Friends but I still feel alone inside. Something is always empty inside my heart. I don't want you to be like me." De Xi said with a small warm smile, she did not try to hide her sorrow from Natalia like usual.

Natalia looked towards her mother, in a different manner than she usually did.

All along she has admired her mother for the authority commands in a world where men rule but today for the first time she noticed that how vulnerable her mother really was.

"I'm all ears, tell me, Mummy," Natalia said with a small warm smile, encouraging De Xi to open up.

De Xi sighed softly and picked out a thick album of the size of A4 size paper from the bag, placing it flat on the bed.

She opened the album horizontally and the first page revealed the picture of a couple holding a baby wrapped in a baby pink bundle.

"This is your maternal grandparents. Your Grandpa De Bao and Grandma Jiang An, your Aunt Mei is your Grandma's only niece." De Xi said with a fond smile.

"Really? Mummy, is that baby you?" Natalia asked as she pointed at the baby who has sharp hazel eyes.

De Xi nodded her head which earned her a small giggle from Natalia.

She turned to the next page where there were five people. Two elders and three kids.

"They are my paternal grandparents, but now only my Grandpa is alive. My Grandma passed away when I was twelve." De Xi said as she looked at the picture with melancholy.

"I'm sure she is proud of you just the way we all are," Natalia said as she side-hugged her mother warmly comforting her.

"Do you know? You are just like her." De Xi said with a small chuckle.

"Really?" Natalia asked in surprise.

De Xi hummed in response as she smiled fondly at her daughter's wide surprised eyes.

"This one is you, who are these two kids Mummy?" Natalia asked as she pointed at the two younger kids sitting on either side of the sofa with one child in between her grandparents.

"How are you sure this is me?" De Xi asked in amusement.

"You are the only one with hazel eyes in the picture other than Great-grandma," Natalia said as she pointed towards the girl's eyes who was sitting in between.

"Quite keen, aren't we?" De Xi said with a chuckle and turned to the next page.

The next page revealed three people, a very younger version of De Xi with a boy and a girl similar looking to her.

"This is your maternal Uncle De Xing and maternal Aunt De Xiu. Your Aunt is the youngest among three of us." De Xi smiles warmly as she introduced her younger siblings to her daughter.

"How old were you then Mummy?" Natalia asked curiously, eyes gleaming with excitement.

"During the picture? I was nineteen, your Uncle was seventeen and your Aunt was sixteen. I just returned from abroad at that time after completing my MBA.." De Xi said with a smile.