Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
As the guests began to leave, the successful completion of the wedding banquet was a relief to everyone. Amyra pulled Bale aside, her expression serious as she opened her mouth to speak. But Bale cut her off before she could say anything.
“Don’t ask. Don’t get yourself into trouble.”
Even without the explanation, Amyra understood. It was exactly what I had feared. Yunice lifted her wedding dress and followed Wyatt.
“What about Gill? Did you get her to the hospital?”
Wyatt stopped and turned around.
“Now you remember your dear Gill?”
Yunice felt the change in his tone and froze, staring at him. Then Wyatt looked down slightly.
She had noticed the ring missing during the toast and figured it must have been lost during the confrontation with Paul. Trying to remain calm, she replied, “I think I know where I dropped it. Come with me; we can find it. Actually, Paul…” Before she could finish, Wyatt opened his palm to her.
Yunice looked down. The blood drained from her face instantly, anger rising in her chest like a punch to the heart.
Wyatt asked, “Was that part of your little mission, too?”
Yunice’s entire body went still, her gaze locked coldly on his. I knew exactly what he meant. I had heard all the rumors about myself, again and again. And I knew what “mission” meant. They meant that I was the kind of girl who liked to play rough, who got off on twisted power games. That I called Paul “Master,” begged him to give me humiliating tasks, things too shameful to talk about, and the more degrading, the more I enjoyed them. The niche role-playing stuff.
Yunice wanted to explain. But the moment Wyatt asked her that question, she realized he was no different than the others. The thought alone filled her with bitter resistance. His attitude made me too tired to even care. The fact that he could ask meant that he’d already labeled me in his mind. And I’d seen this scenario too many times. Each time it was someone I thought I could trust asking the same question, and each time I tried to prove my innocence-stammering, justifying, explaining I didn’t do those things. But no one ever believed me. Everyone just followed the crowd and painted me as a liar, a fraud, and a disgrace.
Yunice reached out and took the raffia grass ring from Wyatt’s hand. It was the same ring she’d thrown in the trash earlier. This time she tore it in half, then ripped it to shreds with a steady hand, without even blinking. Wyatt said nothing.
The position told everything. How could a ring end up on the zipper of her dress? Only if someone had been behind her, hastily zipping up her dress. And everyone recognized that raffia grass ring. It belonged to Paul Powell. This detail wasn’t even a secret. Even my friends knew.
The upper echelons of Silverburgh were small. Years ago, during a yacht party filled with all the elite young heirs, everyone had witnessed Yunice’s grand gesture, diving into the sea alone just to retrieve this ring as a symbol of her love for Paul. It had become a story they would never forget. What Paul destroyed today wasn’t just Wyatt’s impression of Yunice. He destroyed her standing in Wyatt’s entire social circle. Only now did Yunice understand. All Paul had done was to panic me, make me scramble, and then trap me. I had been so focused on minimizing Wyatt’s loss that I had failed to check for weaknesses in myself.
Yunice gave a cold, twisted smile. Paul Powell had seen this before.
I had heard too many accusations in my life. I no longer wasted energy explaining myself to those who didn’t believe me.
Lifting the hem of her wedding dress, she turned and walked away, not even looking back at Wyatt to see his reaction. Her mind was strangely calm. No sense of injustice. No sorrow. All she could think about was one thing-how to destroy Paul Powell.
The familiar voice made her stop and turn. The hostility vanished from her face in an instant, replaced by a soft, harmless expression. Carl walked slowly toward her, each step heavy and deliberate. His pace said it all; he had thought carefully before calling to her. Seeing the seriousness on his face, Yunice’s heart sank fast and hard. There was a flicker of pleading in her eyes, silently begging him not to say anything that would shame her further.
Carl frowned and remained silent for a few seconds before finally raising his hand and patting her arm with quiet disappointment. “Put those bad thoughts away. Concentrate on your work from now on. Don’t make me feel like I misjudged you.”
Yunice clutched her wedding dress tightly. His words were more painful than if he’d scolded her directly. As he walked past her, she looked up slightly to see Victor following. Victor gave her a distant smile and walked away without a word.
Once everyone was gone, Yunice felt as if her strength had been completely drained. She dragged the heavy dress back to her room to change. I didn’t care what Wyatt thought of me, because I never expected love from him. Marrying him was only about gaining a powerful ally.
He cherished me, and I want to return that kindness with everything that is good in me. But before I had the chance, he was already disappointed in me. The guilt grew inside her like a thorn rooted in her flesh. I can go and explain everything to Carl, explain what had happened today, and prove my innocence. But I couldn’t go back in time. I couldn’t stop the rumors. I couldn’t close every gossiping mouth.
Still, I wouldn’t carry this guilt forever. And I certainly wasn’t going to wear that dirty label for the rest of my life.
The reason I haven’t poisoned Paul yet is because I want to keep him alive so he could be forced to confess to every vile thing he’s done over the years.
As if nothing had happened, Yunice changed out of her dress and into civilian clothes. She slung her ordinary canvas bag over her shoulder and left the room. She didn’t go to Wyatt, nor did she look for Carl. Instead, she went back to the elevator control room. She searched every inch of it, retracing her steps one by one. Wyatt’s wedding ring is expensive. I can’t just let it disappear. She searched every nook and cranny but found nothing.
Given what I knew about Paul, how much he hated Wyatt, he probably would’ve thrown the ring away. Yunice’s eyes fell on the sewer grate. She walked over, set down her bag, and began to pry open the grate with her bare hands. Judging by the width of the pipe, she thought she could squeeze in.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
The teasing voice made Yunice look up. Freya was standing with her arms crossed, looking down at her with amusement. Yunice’s foot was already halfway into the sewer.
“I think my ring was dropped in here.”
Freya watched her like a soft, stubborn little golden hamster. Yunice tilted her head up and asked, “Are you coming in to help me look?” Freya wrinkled her nose in disgust. “It stinks. No way.” Then she pulled out her cell phone. “I’ll give you some light.”
“Thank you.” Yunice bent down and began to carefully search the sewer for the ring.
Freya said, “You’re mad at Wyatt, aren’t you?” Yunice didn’t even look up. “No.”
Freya pressed again. “When people talk about you, why don’t you defend yourself? Just look at Elsie. She can turn black into white and still deny everything, even when caught.”
Still getting no answer, Freya changed the subject. “Well, she opened her mouth too much and talked trash about you, so Wyatt had someone sew her mouth shut.”
“What?” Yunice looked up, remembering the scene. Sewing Elsie’s mouth? He really did that?
Seeing that Yunice was still focused on searching, Freya sighed dramatically. “Us women… it’s always the same. Some have people who protect them like precious flowers. Others just get trampled.”
If a woman makes a mistake, she’s nailed to the pillar of shame, dragged through public disgrace, and almost loses her life. But when a man makes a mistake, all he has to do is come home after fooling around, and suddenly he’s praised for “turning over a new leaf.” Love is made by two people, but it’s always the woman who gets the blame. Men remain boys forever, too simple-minded to scheme-according to them, it’s always the woman who seduces first… How convenient, all the excuses they’ve invented to hide the truth.
With a snap, Freya lit a cigarette and exhaled a thin cloud of smoke with icy indifference. Yunice watched her and thought, A woman as beautiful as Freya must have endured her share of slander. She even felt a little ashamed of herself.
When I had first seen Freya in that bunny costume, I had judged her, too. But now, after spending time with her, Freya was actually the one I felt most comfortable with.
Freya looked at the door. “Take your time to look around. I won’t stay here.”
“Okay,” Yunice replied quietly.
Freya walked out but stopped at the door just as she passed Wyatt. “She’s in the sewers looking for her wedding ring,” she said coolly. “Poor girl.” Then she left.
Moments later, Yunice finally found the ring buried in the mud. When she pulled herself up from the sewer, the first thing she saw was a pair of fine leather shoes. She could even see her disheveled reflection in the polished surface. I must have smelled terrible.
Wyatt stood nonchalantly above her, towering like a mountain. His gaze followed her as she rose to her feet, his face unreadable. His eyes drifted to the slap mark on her face, his thoughts growing darker. What had she been doing in the 40 minutes since she had disappeared?
Yunice opened her palm. “I found the ring. I’ll return it as soon as it’s cleaned.”
Seeing no reaction, Yunice quietly returned to her hotel room and took a shower. Then she went to the front desk to pick up a jewelry cleaning solution.
The receptionist called to her. “Mrs. Cooper, Mr. Cooper has already left. He has arranged a car for you. You may leave whenever you’re ready.”
Yunice paused. “Okay,” she replied flatly.
After cleaning the ring, the car Wyatt had arranged took them straight to the hospital where Gill was being treated. Gill had her head wrapped in gauze and was rubbing the back of her scalp, wincing from the pain. When Yunice walked in, she was shocked.
“Ms. Yunice, you… you came alone?”
Of course, I assumed that Yunice was worried about me and had come to check on me. But it was her wedding day; she should be heading home to Pavilion Hall with Wyatt.
Yunice set the tonic supplements on the table and carefully examined the injury. “He had something to do and left first.”
“How could he? What’s so urgent that he’d leave you alone on your wedding day?” Gill raised her head in protest, only to flinch again as the movement tugged at her wound.
Realizing it was only a superficial injury, Yunice let out a sigh of relief. “It’s not his fault. It’s mine.”
Anyone would be furious if something like this happened during their wedding. Wyatt had already shown impressive restraint. If it had been Paul Powell, I probably wouldn’t have made it out alive, at least not in one piece.
Call’s eyes turned red. She held her head and cursed. “Damn Paul Powell!”
Yunice looked up. “Did you see who hit you?”
Gill shook her head. “The bastard came from behind. And I’ve got eyes in the back of my head.” She didn’t notice the flicker in Yunice’s expression. I knew who had hit her.
Earlier, during the wedding, Kingsley had contacted me and said he had a gift to deliver. That’s why I left the room, only to run into Paul Powell. When Kingsley didn’t find me waiting, he feared something had gone wrong and went looking for me. On the way, he’d knocked Gill unconscious.
Yunice didn’t explain any of this. She didn’t want to reveal Kingsley’s involvement. Everything today was my own fault, and I felt guilty towards Gill and Wyatt.
After leaving the hospital, Yunice began to track down Paul’s whereabouts. But Paul, coward that he was, had already fled. Fearing Wyatt’s retaliation, he’d fled abroad that very day. Even his own family couldn’t contact him anymore.