Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Eyes shifting, voice trembling, she blurted out, “It wasn’t mine… Yunice must’ve slipped it into my clothes. I don’t know why she’d do something like that, but it wasn’t mine.”
She thought throwing Yunice under the bus would get her out of trouble. Maybe Owen would blow up at Yunice instead.
But Owen didn’t even react to the accusation. He pulled out his phone instead. “I’ll just call Paul and ask him myself.”
Elsie panicked. “Mom…” she whispered, her voice shaking as she turned toward Lily. The second she spoke, both Lily and Owen stiffened. That one word said it all. Elsie had already slept with Paul.
Owen stepped forward quickly, eyes locked on her. “Did he force you?” Elsie’s face twisted with shame, completely lost for words. But to Owen, her silence said it all. His face went pale with rage. “How many times have I told you-no sex before marriage. Not until you had that marriage certificate in hand. I thought you were the one I didn’t have to worry about. I never imagined you’d end up making the same mistake as the others.”
Elsie had never been yelled at like that. She broke down in tears and curled up behind Lily.
Lily, heartbroken, jumped to her defense. “So what if Elsie slept with Paul? It’s not a big deal-this is how things are now. People have sex before marriage all the time. Owen, why are you acting more old-school than me?”
Owen rubbed his temples, exhausted. It wasn’t just her words-it was the ignorance behind them that wore him down. He sighed. “Mom, come on. You really don’t see what’s happening? The Powell family’s been dragging their feet. They were never going to let her marry in. And now her reputation’s on the line. What if Paul backs out? What happens to Elsie then?”
Lily waved it off. “That’s not going to happen. Paul’s obsessed with her. Why would he walk away?”
There was no point in arguing with her, so Owen turned back to Elsie. Elsie bit her lip, tears streaming down her face. She knew it-Owen didn’t see her the same anymore. Whatever image he’d had of her was shattered. Heartbroken, she turned to leave.
Owen saw the shift in her expression and grabbed her arm. “Where are you going?”
Through sobs, Elsie cried, “I’m sorry, Owen. I embarrassed you. But don’t worry…I’ll take care of it. I won’t cause you any more trouble.”
That hit Lily hard. She lunged forward and grabbed her daughter. “Owen! Are you trying to push her over the edge?”
Owen froze. That hadn’t even crossed his mind. He stood there, stiff, caught off guard-but the truth was, Elsie had messed up. Someone had to take responsibility. Still, she was his sister. What was done was done. And Elsie was quick to break under emotional weight-fragile, easily shaken, and always taking things too personally. Now that he’d exposed something so private, what if she couldn’t handle it? What if she really did something reckless?
Owen clenched his jaw. He made up his mind. “Elsie, this isn’t your fault.” Then he turned to Lily. “Keep an eye on her. Don’t let her do anything stupid. I’m going to talk to Paul. He owes us an explanation.” He stormed downstairs and called out, “Yunice! You’re coming with me-to the Powell estate.”
Yunice looked up, startled. She’d heard the yelling from upstairs, but she had no idea why she was being dragged into it. Shouldn’t Elsie be the one going to confront Paul? Owen didn’t explain. He just grabbed his keys and walked out, motioning for her to follow.
Owen glanced at her for a moment, then said quietly, “You don’t need the mask. We’re not around strangers-and it might just make the wound worse.”
Yunice glanced at the Powell staff walking back and forth, clearly uncomfortable. She used to visit this house all the time. Everyone here knew her. No one wanted to show their worst side in front of people who knew them. But Owen looked at her and didn’t change his mind. Yunice’s heart sank. She slowly pulled the mask down. It wouldn’t be her first time being humiliated at the Powell estate. What was one more?
Owen looked at the scar running across her cheek, and something twisted inside him. He knew what he was about to do would hurt her, but he didn’t have a choice. Maybe to make himself feel better, he said something he never said. “Yunny, after this just focus on healing. I won’t push you to get married again.”
Yunice’s brow twitched slightly. She knew Owen-he only made promises like that when he felt guilty. When he was about to do something he knew she wouldn’t forgive. But what choice did she have? She said nothing and followed him inside.
As they walked through the estate, the staff couldn’t help but notice the scar on Yunice’s face. But this was the Powell family-every maid followed strict rules. No matter what they were thinking, no one dared to say a word.
The Powell estate was laid out like a private compound, with each family member living in their own separate residence. Paul stayed at Maplecrest Manor, a quiet corner of the property surrounded by tall red maples. Near the trees was a small garden pavilion, built for greeting visitors. Owen motioned for Yunice to wait there, then headed into Maplecrest without another word.
Yunice sat silently on the cushioned stone bench inside the pavilion, calm and composed-even as the passing staff continued to glance her way.
Yunice rested her chin in her hand and, with a small, subtle movement, slipped an earbud into her ear, letting her hair fall to cover it. She’d planted a bug on Owen before they left. So, even though he’d gone into Maplecrest Manor without her, she wasn’t going to miss a single word of what went down inside.
Owen didn’t bother knocking. He stormed straight into Paul’s room and, without a word, slammed a punch right into his jaw. Caught off guard, Paul crashed backward onto the couch. He jumped to his feet, furious, and grabbed at Owen. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he shouted, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. “Sh*t, I’m bleeding!”
Owen didn’t even flinch. “That was just the start.” Owen landed another punch, this time to the other side of Paul’s face. “You laid a hand on Elsie? Beating the crap out of you would still be going easy.”
Paul hit the couch again, groaning. “F*ck!” he spat, but this time he didn’t fight back. “Are you insane? What the hell is your problem?” he snapped. “I’m dating Elsie. What, I’m not allowed to touch her now?”
Owen’s voice dropped low, dangerous. “You know exactly what I mean.”
Paul froze. At first, he hadn’t thought much of it-but now, with the way Owen was looking at him, something shifted in his expression. A flicker of guilt. Owen saw it. He lunged forward, grabbed Paul by the collar, and pulled him close. “What did you promise me? Huh? What did you swear to me?”
Paul’s face darkened. He didn’t say a word. But Owen wasn’t letting him off easy. “You slept with Yunice. I let it slide-but I warned you. If you ever touched Elsie, I’d come for you. You said she was the one you cared about most, the one you couldn’t bring yourself to hurt. And now? You’ve screwed around with both of my sisters.”
Paul’s jaw tightened, the vein in his neck visibly pulsing. He looked like he wanted to fire back-but the words caught in his throat. After a long pause, he finally muttered, “It wasn’t like that. Elsie and I… we care about each other. It just happened. I didn’t force her.”
Owen didn’t buy it. He punched him again. “Bullshit! You really expect me to believe that? You’ve always been like this. You probably pushed her into it. And she still covered for you this whole time. If she hadn’t, I would’ve been here a long time ago.”
Paul spat blood to the side and glared at him. “Wait-did Elsie tell you I forced her?”
“Spare me the excuses,” Owen snapped. “You touched her, now you take responsibility.”
Then he let go of Paul’s shirt and pointed toward the door. His tone was bitter, like he didn’t care how ugly this got. “I brought Yunice with me. She’s outside right now.”
Paul’s gaze shifted past him, through the open doors. There, beneath the canopy of red maples, sat Yunice-quiet and still. Her black hair draped softly over her shoulders as she sat in the pavilion, poised like a painting-elegant, distant, and untouchable.
“You hooked up with both of my sisters,” Owen said, his voice cold. “Now be a man and make a choice. Take responsibility.”
Paul’s temper flared. He jumped to his feet. “Are you kidding me right now? You think this is some kind of game show where I just point and pick a prize?”
Owen stepped in again, pressing harder. “So what is this then? If you won’t choose, was Elsie just a fling? Something easy to toss once you got what you wanted?”
“Hell no!” Paul snapped. He and Owen had grown up together-Yunice or not, they were close. Messing around was one thing, but not with Owen’s sister. That was a hard line he never meant to cross.
“Then choose,” Owen growled, stepping aside and pointing toward the courtyard. “Look at Yunice. Say it to her face. Let’s see if you can live with your choice.”
Paul couldn’t say a word. The truth was, he still felt too young to be tied down. He really did care about Elsie-but getting married now? That wasn’t in his plans. But after what happened, Owen wasn’t going to let this go. He wanted a clear answer. Right now.
His eyes drifted out to the courtyard. Yunice sat quietly in the distance beneath the trees, calm and unreadable. His chest tightened. Elsie or Yunice?
Owen’s eyes narrowed. “You’re hesitating. Unbelievable. Guess that says everything. If Elsie really mattered to you, you wouldn’t have paused for even a second.”
Paul clenched his fists. The words stung, and he fired back. “You think I’m like you? Just picking and choosing like it’s nothing? You left your own sister to burn and walked away like it didn’t matter!”
Owen went still. That hit hard. Paul saw it and didn’t let up. “You act like some protective big brother, but let’s be honest-you never really cared about Yunice. You brought her here to use her. To back me into a corner. You know she’s not ‘good enough’ anymore-her name’s ruined, her face is scarred. And you made her sit outside in front of the staff just to humiliate her. Just to make sure I’d feel too ashamed to choose her over Elsie.”
Owen’s eyes flickered-just for a second. But Paul caught it. He let out a bitter laugh. “Don’t play dumb, Owen. We both know how this works. I see right through you.”
Owen’s jaw tightened. This time, he was the one who went silent.
“It’s not like I’m trying to back out,” Paul said. “I’ll marry Elsie. The only issue is my dad-he still has concerns.”
Owen narrowed his eyes. “What kind of concerns?”
Paul scoffed. “Same old problem. That loser’s still in the way. My dad won’t let me get married until he does.”
Owen’s expression shifted. “You mean Wyatt?”
Paul snorted. “Who else? He’s never really been one of us. My dad doesn’t trust him. If he ends up with someone powerful backing him, it’s a threat. You think my dad’s going to sit back and let that happen? No chance.”
In the pavilion, Yunice rested her chin on her palm, listening through her earbud. She heard everything. So this was why Owen brought her here-to pressure Paul into marrying Elsie. He couldn’t stand the thought of Elsie being embarrassed, so he let her take the hit. He brought her along just to make Elsie look better next to her-to put her scarred face on display. A guy like Paul, who was always into pretty girls, was never going to pick someone like her. Of course, he’d choose Elsie.
She had to admit that Owen had thought it all through. He really was a good big brother. Just not to her.
Inside Maplecrest Manor, the conversation continued. The gist was simple: if Wyatt didn’t get married, Paul couldn’t either. And if Wyatt married someone powerful, Paul had to outmatch him. Whatever happened, Paul had to come out on top of Wyatt. And as far as the Powell family was concerned, the Saunders family brought nothing to the table.
Outside, the sharp tap of a cane echoed against the stone path. Wyatt was walking slowly, cane in hand. Jordan followed beside him, and when he looked up, he paused. “Wyatt, isn’t that Yunice over there?” He frowned. “Why’s she just sitting out here in the cold?”
The tapping stopped for a second. Wyatt glanced once toward the pavilion, his expression unreadable. “Let’s go.”
From where she sat, Yunice noticed Wyatt too. He was heading toward Longevity Springs, the part of the estate where Jackson lived.
Not long after Wyatt disappeared, a servant hurried over to the pavilion with a scarf and a hand warmer. Yunice blinked, surprised. “Who sent this?” she asked.
But the servant caught sight of Paul and Owen approaching from the manor and hurried off without answering.
Owen stepped onto the pavilion, his eyes narrowing as he saw the scarf in her lap. “Where’d that come from?”