Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
“Do you have a sex addiction?” Yunice’s voice exploded in his ear, and Wyatt’s movements stalled for a moment, but he didn’t release her. His jaw rested against her shoulder, trying to touch her. Yunice knew that for someone with a sex addiction, this level of restraint was extraordinary.
Yunice tentatively asked, “Should I prescribe you some medication?”
“I can’t push you away.”
“Heh,” Wyatt laughed in a suppressed manner, then kissed her neck again, his kisses soft and frequent. Unable to resist, his hands moved to tear open her collar, exploring down her body. Just as he was about to lose himself, Paul’s words suddenly exploded in his mind. No matter how much he did with Yunice, her mind would always think of Paul’s face.
Wyatt’s expression instantly grew cold. He gripped Yunice’s arm, and after a long pause, he calmed the raging fire within him and finally released her. Yunice looked at him in confusion. Is his self-control really that strong? Wyatt glanced at her. Her calmness only made him feel like she had resigned herself. Neither of them spoke, and neither understood the other’s feelings.
, Ask Never
Yunice stayed calm because she felt everything was under control. She’d studied medicine; she knew exactly what to do to stop him if things ever spiraled. And because it hadn’t gotten to that point yet, she didn’t move. There was no benefit to pissing him off.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. Jordan’s voice came from outside. “Wyatt, something’s up.”
Wyatt grunted in response, finally shifting his gaze away from Yunice. He stepped out of the hospital room, yanking his tie loose with one hand; he was clearly annoyed.
Gordon followed after him and elbowed Jordan. “What’s going on?”
Jordan knew exactly what was going on but didn’t say a word. Gordon puffed up smugly. “You don’t have to say it-I already know. Wyatt’s all pent up! If you ask me, he should’ve just slipped her something and gotten her into bed. Ms. Saunders might even thank him for it-guy’s doing her a favor! Hilarious. There’s a shortcut, but he insists on this pure love crap…”
Jordan had just opened his mouth to warn him to shut up unless he had a death wish, but before he could say anything, Gordon suddenly went flying backward. Wyatt had stepped forward, eyes burning with fury. “What kind of drug were you thinking? I’ll help you find it.”
Gordon landed on the floor, stunned and speechless. Wyatt almost never laid hands on his own people; what the heck had set him off like this today? Realizing he’d walked straight into the line of fire, Gordon quickly admitted fault. “Wyatt, I swear I won’t run my mouth again!”
“I won’t say anything about Ms. Saunders ever again…”
Just hearing Yunice’s name made Wyatt even angrier. Gordon flinched, instinctively shielding his head with his arms. Jordan stepped in and blocked Wyatt. “Wyatt, he really got the message.” Then he glanced off to the side.
The elevator went down-straight to the basement. The basement level was usually where the hospital morgue was. Word was, the corpse disguised to look like Yunice still hadn’t been claimed.
Wyatt shook Jordan off and, finally regaining some composure, said, “Get a few more people to keep watch here. If someone slips through again…” There was no need to finish the sentence; the murderous look in his eyes said it all. Without waiting for a reply, Wyatt stepped into the elevator. Only then did Jordan go help Gordon up from the ground.
Clutching his stomach, Gordon winced and groaned. “Wyatt couldn’t even stand straight-how the heck did he kick that hard? Any lower and I’d be out a vital organ…”
Jordan exhaled sharply. “Can you shut that mouth of yours?”
Still, something about the way Wyatt had kicked him seemed…off. Which leg had he used? Jordan hadn’t gotten a clear look; he hadn’t paid attention, and now he wasn’t even sure if he was imagining things. Why did it feel like Wyatt could stand just fine?
Gordon, big and burly as he was, wasn’t the type to overthink things. He just felt like he’d taken an unfair beating. “All I did was mention Ms. Saunders. It’s not like Wyatt’s that into her. Why’s he all defensive now? Didn’t he have someone else in-“
Jordan shot him a glare, fed up. “You got a death wish? Then keep talking.”
Realizing he’d stepped out of line again, Gordon’s face flushed red as he quickly shut up.
Paul strode toward the morgue. Lately, his life hadn’t changed much-still eating, still… Other than being wary of Wyatt’s revenge, he figured nothing in his life was really different. Sometimes, he even forgot Yunice was dead. But every time he returned to Maplecrest Manor and saw the empty pet room, a chill would hit him. That’s when he’d remember Moss was gone, and Yunice was gone too.
It felt like something out of a horror movie-one minute they were a happy trio, and the next, everything had drained to black and white, leaving only him behind.
, Ask Never
After several days, Paul finally couldn’t take it anymore. He had the pet room torn down-pretended none of it had ever existed. Moss was the past; Yunice was the past. The dead were gone, and debts-whether owed or repaid-no longer mattered.
But then he’d dream of Yunice. And when he woke up in a sweat, the first thing he’d do was open a drawer and grab some sleeping pills-only to remember that Yunice had been the one who’d mixed them for him. That killed his appetite for pills; instead, he’d go back to his phone. And somehow, without meaning to, he started scrolling through his old social media.
He scrolled all the way back to three years ago, reliving his cringey, melodramatic younger self, post by post. Back then, he and Elsie hadn’t even gotten together yet; Yunice still appeared in his feed. But after that, nothing. He’d deleted her, bit by bit. If he scrolled all the way down now, he’d find not a single trace of Yunice left. Not even one photo.
When he was younger and reckless, Paul prided himself on being wild and free. He rarely posted about Yunice on social media-people would have mocked him for being “whipped.” Now, though, he couldn’t find a single picture. As the phone screen dimmed, Paul suddenly saw his own reflection; the faint glint near the corner of his eye caught his attention. Startled, he reached up to touch it-it was a tear.
For days on end, he found himself thinking about Yunice at the most unexpected times; he even nearly got into a car accident because he zoned out. After a few days, he couldn’t take it anymore. He knew deep down he hadn’t let Yunice go, so he went back to the hospital.
Outside the morgue chamber, Yunice’s name had already been replaced with a serial number. Paul stood there for a long time in front of the cold unit. Then, he reached out to open it, wanting to confirm. Is Yunice really gone? His fingers clenched around the door, but he hesitated again.
He dropped his hand and sighed. “Yunice, if you had just listened to me back then, we wouldn’t have broken up; I wouldn’t have fallen for Elsie.”
“I never changed. You’re the one who insisted on going head-to-head with me.” Paul balled his fists, his eyes filled with frustration, but even he could see there was no point in holding onto it anymore. He stayed there for a long while, then finally pulled out a ring box and took out a grass-woven ring. He hung it on the front of the chamber door.
Lowering his gaze, he hid the storm of words in his eyes. Paul turned and walked away decisively. A breeze passed through; the grass ring swayed gently in front of the morgue.
As Paul left, he noticed someone standing by the hallway entrance. The guy had flaming red spiked hair and wore a ridiculous number of clinking accessories-he looked every bit like a spoiled rich kid. Paul had always held himself above others and naturally didn’t give this guy a second glance. He walked right past him like he didn’t exist.
What he didn’t know was that as soon as he left, Morgan turned and walked straight into the morgue. He plucked the grass ring from the chamber door. “P,” Morgan toyed with the ring, curling his lips into a smirk.
That night, Wyatt came to have dinner with Mary. He had one foot on a stool, elbow resting on his knee, staring up at Wyatt with that scheming look in his eyes.
“Wyatt, you’re getting married soon. Why don’t you bring your fianc?e over so Grandma can meet her? She’s gonna be the one serving tea and taking care of Grandma from now on.”
Morgan grinned, dripping with malice. Mary held her cutlery, frowning. It wasn’t clear if she was mad at Morgan or Wyatt. Either way, she wasn’t happy.
Wyatt glanced at her, then calmly said, “She doesn’t serve anyone.” Mary’s brow twitched as she looked at him.
Wyatt went on. “Making her pour tea is beneath her. If you need help, there are plenty of nursing agencies to call.”
Morgan dropped his leg from the stool, irritated. “You’re doing this on purpose, huh? We’re talking about a little psycho here! Asking her to take care of Grandma is me being generous!”
Clang! Wyatt flung his spoon without warning. Morgan didn’t dodge in time-it hit him square in the eye. He doubled over, clutching his face. Wyatt grabbed a wet napkin to wipe his hands, giving Morgan a sidelong glance. “Did you grow up eating garbage or something?”
Morgan couldn’t get a word out from the pain, furious and humiliated. “Grandma!” he yelled. Mary’s frown deepened. In the end, she only said, “Don’t call me Grandma. You should really learn some manners from Wyatt.”
Wyatt tossed the napkin aside. “Perfect timing. I’ve got a few free days. I’ll teach you myself.” Morgan froze. Mary said nothing.
The tension thickened-until Elianna walked in. The moment she spotted Wyatt, her eyes lit up like stars. “You’re here too, Wyatt!” She pulled out a chair and plopped down next to Morgan. He was decent to her; didn’t go out of his way to be friendly, but at least he didn’t pick fights.
After setting her purse down, Elianna casually placed a small velvet box on the table. Madam Mary noticed and, in an effort to ease the mood, changed the subject. “New jewelry?”
Everyone turned to look at her. Elianna quickly clarified, “Yunice! Wyatt told me to call her that.” Mary’s face darkened even more, but she still said nothing.
Morgan, on the other hand, lit up like he’d caught a rat by the tail. He grabbed the jewelry box from in front of Elianna. “Who’d be giving our sister-in-law a gift?”
“Well, look at that-it’s a ring!” Morgan shot Wyatt a mocking glance. “Did you give her this?”
Wyatt lifted his eyes and looked straight at the grass-woven ring.
It was raffia grass.
Morgan looked away from Wyatt and turned to the doorway. “Hey, the little psycho’s here-let her explain it herself!”
Yunice had already spotted the grass ring the moment she walked in. She’d wanted to leave, but walking away now would have looked like she had something to hide. She stepped inside, polite and proper, greeting Madam Mary first. Then she reached out and took the grass ring from Morgan’s hand. After glancing at it, she said, “Used to make these for fun when I was a kid. No clue where I tossed it-thanks for picking it up for me.”
Morgan scoffed. “Still pretending? Four years ago, at that yacht party, you jumped into the sea just to get this grass ring back. Tons of people saw it.” As he spoke, he shot a glance at Wyatt.
There wasn’t much expression on Wyatt’s face; that alone made it clear he cared. “Raffia grass also symbolizes love. It was so fragile, and yet it didn’t break-that says something about how much you treasured it.”
Morgan kept pushing. “So what is it-you can’t let go of the ring, or can’t let go of…”
He hadn’t even finished his words when Yunice flicked her wrist and tossed the ring straight into the trash. Everyone looked down. For a moment, no one said a word.
Morgan clenched his jaw, irritated and unwilling to back down. “Then I bet you remember that week-long yacht party, don’t you? You and Paul locked yourselves in a room for a whole week-“
“That’s enough.” It was Mary who cut him off. After she spoke, Morgan finally reined it in a bit. Mary turned her wheelchair around and rolled out of the dining room. “Wyatt, come with me.”
As Wyatt stood up, Morgan raised his eyebrows triumphantly. Then he threw a challenging look at Yunice.