Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Nothing happened. He did not touch her. Whether it was discomfort or simply exhaustion, he remained distant. Yunice waited a while, tense and uncertain, before she finally drifted off to sleep.
In her dreams, voices exploded like fireworks in her mind, one after another, each one more piercing than the last.
“Proof like that? I could write you ten thousand of those. You think it’d matter?”
“You cried? What’s so embarrassing? Just shout it out; your little hole wants a bird. No one here’s judging, hahahaha…”
“Still hitting people? I see… You’re just mad you’re losing.”
“Officer, my sister’s situation… Please keep it private. She’s still young…”
“Small girl, petty mind. She’s dragged the Powell family name through the mud.”
“Go ahead, sue us. Let’s see who’s got more evidence.”
“Learning to restore your hymen at such a young age. What was it? Family business? Don’t tell me your brother did the surgery himself.”
“Why care what they say? You’re my fianc?e. Sleeping with you is my right. Why the tears?”
“Could you just stop causing drama? Why did you even go to a hospital for that test? Now people are laughing at me. They say I’m inadequate, say you’re so deep I can’t reach the bottom. Have you no shame?”
“Nooo, I don’t want to go to school anymore. They say my sister has a disease, so I must have one too.”
“Elsie, sweetie, keep your clothes and things separate from your sister’s. Her crowd’s messy; don’t get involved.”
“Yunice! Who told you to wear Elsie’s clothes? From now on, don’t touch anything in this house!”
“Yunny, move into the school dorm…”
“Teacher, we don’t want to share a room with her?”
“Take your little certificates and go kneel in front of your dad’s grave. Think about what you’ve done!”
Documents rained from the sky above Yunice’s head. Proofs, reports, all of them meaninglessly overwhelming. Like a web of shame and judgment, tightening around her throat, smothering her.
In the dim light of the bedroom, Yunice’s body trembled. Her neck twitched violently, and then she growled in her sleep, her voice cold and sharp, “I’ll kill you! Kill all of you!”
Wyatt turned, switching on the lamp. Yunice’s eyes remained shut, her brows deeply furrowed, her body tense with suppressed rage.
Wyatt asked, “Kill who?” His voice rang out like a bell cutting through the chaos of a crowded street.
Yunice jolted awake. The fierceness in her eyes dissolved in an instant. She blinked innocently, turning her head to look at him. “Did I talk in my sleep?”
Letting out a breath, she wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. “Just a nightmare. Scared me to death.”
She glanced toward the window. Soft light began to seep through the edges of the curtain. Dawn was breaking.
No longer sleepy, Yunice sat up. “You go ahead and sleep. I’ll read for a bit.”
The college entrance exam was only two months away. She needed every moment.
Wyatt reminded her, “The team’s moving into the project today. We’re doing a site visit. Northvale’s still rubble. It’ll take a lot of walking to get through it.”
“I know,” Yunice said.
She went to the study. Wyatt sat up too, one hand behind his head, the other fiddling with his phone, brows furrowed. He didn’t go back to sleep either.
At 10:00 am sharp, everyone participating in the project gathered at the Northvale construction site. Yunice wore a safety helmet and followed Victor as they walked through the grounds, mapping out plans.
: Finished
After a full morning of work, the canteen began distributing boxed lunches. Gill even made a special trip to bring Yunice some freshly made dishes.
Though she had a head injury, it was only superficial. She had not stayed in the hospital as she could not bear to leave her food stall. Business had been booming lately, with loyal customers begging her to set up shop more often.
“Good thing I’m near the site. I can bring you food whenever,” she said, then glanced around and lowered her voice. “Where’s Mr. Cooper?”
“He’s in the meeting room,” Yunice replied.
Gill frowned. “You’re his wife. Why are you the one out here doing site surveys? And he’s in a cushy room with air-conditioning, feeling all comfortable?”
Yunice chuckled. “It’s not that bad. It’s only May. The weather’s nice. Besides, I need to start from the ground up if I want to learn anything. If I went straight into a meeting room, I wouldn’t understand a thing.”
Gill suddenly lit up with an idea. She stuffed the meatball container into Yunice’s hands. “Ms. Saunders, take this and lunch to Mr. Cooper!”
Yunice glanced toward the temporary office. That didn’t sound like a bad idea. They were under the same roof, after all. Showing a bit of attentiveness wouldn’t hurt.
Yunice made her way across the construction site toward the office building. Most people on-site did not know her identity. Wyatt’s wedding hadn’t made the news; it had only circulated in elite social circles. That worked well for Yunice.
“Yunice!” A voice rose from afar. The moment she heard Owen’s voice, a wave of instinctive disgust surged through her. He came charging toward her, eyes wide, scanning her up and down. When he confirmed she was unharmed, his expression twisted into fury. “I thought they were all crazy, but you’re really alive! Why didn’t you come home? Don’t you know how worried everyone was?”
Owen was practically shouting, his voice tearing through the quiet lunch hour. Nearby workers and staff all turned to look. Yunice gave him a look of cold revulsion. “Come with me.” She led him toward a small grove beside the site, away from prying eyes.
As soon as they stopped, Owen’s temper reignited. Seeing the lunchbox in her hands only fueled his anger, so he smacked it away in one motion. “You still have the appetite to eat?!”
Yunice stared down at the meatballs rolling across the dirt, her expression losing all patience. Owen did not stop. “Why haven’t you contacted anyone in the family? Do you even know Oscar’s back? He’s been lighting into everyone in the house over you! If you’re alive, why hide? Don’t you owe him at least that? You’re coming home tonight no matter what!”
Yunice did not respond, as if the words simply passed by her ears. Owen sneered, “Elsie’s really going to give your identity back this time.” Then he added, “Oscar’s ready to flip the house over because of this.”
The message was clear. If Yunice did not return, the family would not survive the chaos.
Owen finally breathed a sigh of relief. Now that she had Wyatt and Carl backing her, he was honestly afraid she wouldn’t even acknowledge him.
Once he left, Yunice stared at the ruined lunch on the ground, a little regretful.
Meanwhile, in the temporary office, Wyatt sat with his leather shoes propped on the table. In front of him, a small-time contractor was fawning with flattery. “Mr. Cooper, you can rest assured. If you entrust this project to me, I’ll make sure it’s done perfectly with flawless execution!”
Wyatt closed the project file and encouraged the contractor a little. The contractor was over the moon. He had no idea what stroke of luck had landed him this contract. Getting picked by Wyatt was like winning the lottery.
Instead of leaving, he took out a small gift box and placed it gently on the table. “I heard you recently got married, Mr. Cooper. This is just a little something for your wife. Please don’t mind.”
Wyatt barely reacted, giving a disinterested nod. As soon as the man left, he casually swept the gift straight into the trash without a second glance.
Just then, Jordan walked in. Wyatt was about to call Yunice over for lunch. “She’s already eaten,” Jordan said. “Gill brought her some meatballs.”
Hearing that, Wyatt frowned slightly and hung up. But to his surprise, Yunice actually returned the missed call. “Sorry, I was busy just now. Didn’t see your call. Did you need something?”
Wyatt replied, “Do I need a reason to call you?”
Yunice paused, then softened her voice. “Have you eaten yet? Gill gave me some meatballs earlier. I was going to bring them to you, but I accidentally dropped them.”
Wyatt let out a long breath and leaned lazily back in his chair. “Make it up to me next time.”
“Okay,” Yunice replied.
Jordan lingered in the office, pacing around, pretending to tidy up, just to eavesdrop. A good assistant’s top skill? Reading their boss’s true feelings.
After yesterday’s chaos at the wedding, gossip had been flying left and right. Yet somehow, the couple seemed completely unfazed. On Yunice’s end, the initial data was already verified. She and Victor sat casually on a rock at the construction site, marking notes on blueprints with…
The Northvale project was set to become the largest hospital in Silverburgh. The layout of each department required meticulous planning, not just for efficiency, but for life-saving transitions during emergencies. Yunice’s medical expertise, paired with Victor’s architectural skills, made them the perfect team. That’s exactly why Carl put the two of them together.
Victor tapped the paper. “Let me tweak this section a bit.”