Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Wyatt stopped in his tracks. “Who told you that?”
“Doesn’t matter how I know. Point is-if a couple’s not sleeping together, something’s off. If she won’t sleep with you, she’s just not that into you.”
Wyatt’s face darkened. “What the hell do you know?”
None of them understood Yunice-what she’d been through or what she was still carrying.
She had her own demons when it came to intimacy, especially with the rumors and history involving Paul. Those scars didn’t just vanish.
The fact that she had started to accept him, however slowly, already meant she was letting him in.
Wyatt had promised he wouldn’t rush her. It didn’t matter if she didn’t feel anything now-he would draw her in, one step at a time.
The man said, “I’m just trying to help-“
“I don’t need anyone teaching me how to have sex,” Wyatt snapped. “You trying to run my bedroom now, too?”
With that, he turned and stormed off.
The man let out an awkward sigh.
Just then, Maine appeared, frowning as her gaze moved between Wyatt and the other guy. “Wait… what did you just say? Yunice won’t sleep with him?”
The man raised his hands in a shrug, voice low and dramatic. “They pulled guns on each other over it.”
“They’ve been married for over a year. If it wasn’t for that bottle of oil I gave him, who knows if he’d have gotten anywhere. And now I’m the bad guy? Fine. I’ll just keep my mouth shut next time.”
Maine watched him walk away, thoughtful.
She returned to the private room with the drinks-and froze at the doorway.
Inside, Yunice was laughing and chatting with the others like she’d always belonged there.
‘s Gambit
The same group that had seemed so aloof earlier now crowded around Yunice, arms outstretched.
“Check me first! Cramer, stop pushing! You’re the one who admitted to feeling weak earlier. What’s the point if your pulse is gone?”
“My left wrist feels weak – what if the right one doesn’t?”
“What are you, half-paralyzed? One side works and the other doesn’t?”
Just then, Maine walked in and saw Yunice taking pulses. She frowned. “What are you guys doing?”
Someone looked back and answered, “Maine, Yunice is taking our pulses. And she’s good. She even figured out what I ate two days ago!”
“Hey, don’t you always complain about cramps? Make room for Maine – hers are the worst, let her go first.”
With a flurry of movement, the crowd parted. “Ladies first! Maine, your turn!”
Maine frowned and gave Yunice a tight look, then turned to the group. “She’s still young. It’s fine to mess around, but don’t go taking her prescriptions seriously.”
She grabbed the slip of paper Cramer was holding and ripped it in half.
Then she turned to the person who’d been impressed with Yunice earlier. “You post like 800 updates a day. Anyone who pays attention knows everything about you, right down to how often you go to the bathroom. Figuring out what you ate isn’t exactly rocket science.”
“Maine, don’t be a killjoy,” someone muttered. “We’re just here to have fun. You and Wyatt have been married a while – why act like she’s still a stranger?”
“I’m not throwing a fit,” Maine said, setting her drink down. “Just saying – don’t go popping random pills.”
Yunice looked at her politely and asked, “You don’t really post much online, do you?”
Maine glanced up at her, wary.
Yunice said calmly, “Your complexion’s dull with a slight greenish tint. Puffiness under the eyes. Classic signs of liver stagnation and dampness in the spleen.”
Maine’s expression turned openly hostile – Yunice made it sound like she was some kind of monster.
But deep down, Maine knew every word was true. Her makeup routine was long and heavy, just to cover up her tired appearance. Years of nonstop work had drained her, and she’d always blamed the stress for making her look worse.
Yunice continued, “You probably get breast tenderness before your period, sticky mouth in the morning, and fatigue throughout the day. You’re dealing with both blood deficiency compounded by internal dampness. You should take astragalus and amomum. No cold drinks. Tap the gallbladder meridian in the morning, soak in tuckahoe and cinnamon twig tea at night.”
“Balance your liver, and your skin will clear up. You might even earn yourself an extra thirty minutes of sleep in the morning.”
No more struggling with heavy concealer.
Maine stared at her. Even though Yunice had hit every nail on the head, she snapped, “That’s all wrong. My skin’s fine. No need to lie through your teeth.”
Seeing that she was getting defensive, the group quickly jumped in to smooth things over. “Alright, alright. With medicine, it’s all about belief – if you believe in it, it works. If not, that’s fine too. It’s just for fun.”
“Now that the drinks are here, let’s play truth or dare!”
Yunice smiled faintly. “I’m not playing. You all know each other too well – none of your secrets will matter. So clearly the game’s just a trick to dig up my secrets, isn’t it?”
Everyone burst out laughing. “But if you’ve got good luck, you won’t have to do anything.”
“Play a few rounds, get to know us better. Eventually, you’ll learn our dirt too.”
Yunice’s blunt honesty actually made it harder for anyone to target her openly.
Once Wyatt and the others returned, the game officially began.
Rules were simple: whoever lost spun the bottle. Whoever the bottle pointed to had to complete a dare or answer a truth.
To decide who would spin first, they drew cards – highest card wins.
Everyone flipped their cards, and as luck would have it, Yunice’s was the lowest.
The “chosen one.”
She stood and gave the bottle a calculated flick.
All eyes followed its spin. Slowly, it came to a stop – pointing directly at Maine.
Yunice now had the power to assign her punishment. She thought for a moment, then said, “Let’s go with a dare.”
Maine visibly relaxed. Truths were much harder to navigate.
For someone like her, dares were a piece of cake – even something extreme like kissing someone next to her wouldn’t faze her.
But if Yunice’s request was too outrageous, Maine could just spin it like she was being the mature one. Yunice’s eyes sparkled with sly amusement. After a few seconds, she announced sweetly, “Your dare is… spill some juicy dirt on Wyatt. How many women, besides me, has he almost gotten involved with?”
Maine instinctively glanced at Wyatt when she heard Yunice’s question, but quickly shifted her gaze and fired back at Yunice instead. “Everyone has a past. Haven’t you?”
Digging into someone’s history like this-especially in front of a crowd-was, in her eyes, petty.
Besides, everyone knew Yunice had been engaged to someone else for over a decade. What right did she have to question anyone’s past?
The room went silent for a few seconds before Wyatt finally said, “One.”
The ripple was immediate. It was as if a stone had been dropped into still water-silent, but deep.