Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Oscar stood frozen, staring at the nearly empty banquet tables, the once-crowded room now dotted with just a handful of guests. A dazed expression settled on his face. Maybe now, he finally understood why Yunice had insisted on leaving this family. He sank into a chair, overwhelmed with regret. How was he supposed to face her after this? This kind of scene-wasn’t it like stabbing her in the heart?
What he didn’t see was Yunice quietly approaching behind him. Not everyone had left the hall. One family still remained. A young girl, maybe ten or so, suddenly jumped to her feet, eyes shining. “Yunice!”
Oscar looked up to see a distant relative-he couldn’t even recall their names-approaching Yunice. The little girl reached her first and stopped right in front of her, staring in awe. “Yunice, you’re so pretty-prettier than ever!”
Yunice wore a glamorous gown and had put on makeup, making her even more striking than usual. She gently patted the girl’s head, vaguely recognizing her. “You’re Lincoln’s granddaughter?”
Yunice nodded, then looked around at the now-empty banquet hall. The dishes hadn’t even been served, and yet everyone had already left. Of course, she knew why.
At that moment, Oscar approached her, guilt written all over his face. “I’m sorry, Yunice. I… I didn’t handle it well…”
Seeing him like that, Yunice felt a pang in her heart. She said, “It’s okay. I’m used to it.”
Used to it? Oscar looked at her in pain. Did this kind of thing happen more than once?
Before Yunice could answer, the old man behind them burst out in anger. “All because of that little bastard. Every year, whenever we try to celebrate Yunice’s birthday, she always throws a tantrum-fainting, feeling sick-dragging the whole family away and leaving Yunice to clean up the mess alone.”
Oscar clenched his fists at the old man’s words. Yunice, on the other hand, turned to Lincoln. “You come to my birthday parties every year?”
He sighed. “Yuna’s parents passed away early, and our family hasn’t done well. Every time we came, we were seated way in the corner. We didn’t even dare go up to talk to you. When Yuna’s parents had their car accident, we couldn’t save them… but our family has never forgotten what you did for us. Don’t worry, Yunice. Even if everyone else leaves, my family will still celebrate your birthday with you.”
Oscar’s voice trembled as he raised it. “And me.”
“Ma’am,” Jordan’s voice suddenly came from behind. Everyone turned to see Wyatt standing just beyond the edge of the lights.
Yunice froze for a second, then remembered she should probably greet him. But before she could take a step, Wyatt was already walking toward her. He stopped at her side naturally, slipping an arm around her waist as they faced Yunice’s family.
Wyatt glanced down at Yunice and asked, “Aren’t you going to introduce us to each other?”
Yunice came to her senses and quickly said, “This is Lincoln’s wife, Mel. And this is my cousin, Yuna.”
Wyatt greeted them calmly. “Sir, ma’am.” When his eyes landed on Yuna, the girl blurted out, “Hello, sir!”
Wyatt raised an eyebrow and gently corrected her. “Wrong title. I’m your cousin-in-law.”
Lincoln and Mel stared at him in shock, then turned to Yunice. “And he is…?”
Yunice awkwardly clutched Wyatt’s sleeve. She hadn’t figured out how to introduce him. The word “husband” felt stuck in her throat. So she went with something more neutral. “He’s my husband.”
Wyatt’s gaze deepened, and the curve of his lips grew more pronounced. Oscar began to study Wyatt more carefully. He had never interacted with Wyatt directly-the only time he’d seen him was from a distance, at Yunice’s wedding. Back then, he had assumed Wyatt was the one who ruined Yunice’s life.
Yunice glanced toward Oscar. She hesitated, just about to introduce them, when Wyatt extended his hand toward him with quiet grace. “Oscar.”
Oscar flinched slightly, his expression unreadable, caught between caution and scrutiny. But still, he reached out and shook Wyatt’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Wyatt could see right through his wariness, but didn’t care. Meanwhile, Yunice’s relatives were still looking at her with concern. “Yunice, how come we didn’t hear a word about your wedding?”
Not just her relatives-even the Saunders family themselves hadn’t been informed when Yunice got married. So even with Wyatt standing right in front of them, her parents had no idea who he was.
Before Yunice could respond, Mel slapped her thigh in frustration. “It must’ve been your mother-thought we were too poor, so she didn’t tell us.” She then pulled two envelopes from her pocket. “Yunice, we didn’t make it to your wedding, but this is our cash gift. You have to accept it.”
Yunice held the thick envelopes and felt her chest tighten. This was the first time anyone had given her wedding money. She knew her relatives must’ve saved up for a long time, but she still accepted it. “Thank you.”
Wyatt lowered his gaze and placed a hand on her shoulder. Just then, the lights in the banquet hall came on all at once. Four people wheeled in a giant castle cake from backstage.
Yuna gasped the moment she saw it, mouth hanging open. “Wow…” The cake stood over two meters tall, more dazzling than a real castle. The jewel-studded decorations sparkled brighter than the diamond ring on Lily’s finger.
Even Oscar looked stunned as the hotel staff swiftly transformed the entire venue. Within ten minutes, the plain banquet hall had been upgraded to full luxury. Yuna, wide-eyed like she’d never seen anything so grand, gasped again and again, pulling out her phone to record everything and post it on her social feed.
Soon, her posts were flooded with comments. “Where is this?” This kind of setup was something only the ultra-rich could afford. Even sneaking in for a photo would be worth bragging about for years.
But the replies came in fast, filled with scorn. “Fake photos from the internet. You’ll never be more than wannabes.” “Oscar doesn’t even have a job. How the hell could he afford something like this for Yunice? Quit lying.”
As the hate and ridicule piled up in the comments, Yuna’s face twisted with anger. Fearing Yunice would see it and get upset, she simply turned the comments off.
A few people hadn’t yet left the hotel when they saw Yuna’s posts on her social media feed. Curiosity got the better of them, and they decided to return to the banquet hall to check it out. But they never made it past the elevators-security was stationed at the entrance and politely turned them away. The explanation given was that the banquet hall had been fully booked, and no one was allowed in.
That sealed the deal. Those people no longer believed it was Yunice’s birthday party at all. Someone even posted claiming the hotel had kicked Yunice out so the venue could be used by a VIP. The comments under that post were full of gloating and mockery, claiming Yunice was overreaching-completely unaware of her own worth.
Naturally, Owen saw these comments while sitting in the hospital. When he stared at the screen, his face burned with shame. Stepping out of Elsie’s hospital room, he immediately called Oscar.
Oscar answered, and Owen erupted. “Oscar, what the hell are you doing? Wasn’t the banquet hall I set up good enough? Why would you fake photos to show off? Do you know everyone’s laughing at Yunice right now!”
Oscar waited until he’d finished before letting out a cold laugh. “Owen, aren’t you supposed to be busy taking care of your sister? Why do you care how my sister celebrates her birthday?”
Owen choked on the reply, then softened his tone. “Life comes first, okay? You can’t expect me to just leave Elsie like that.”
Oscar’s voice turned steely. “You know damn well how many times Elsie’s fainted at Yunice’s birthday parties. I don’t need to spell it out. You want to play dumb, fine-but don’t you dare use this to play the victim and guilt Yunice.”
Owen heard voices in the background over the phone and frowned. “Wait, didn’t the hotel kick you out? Why are you still…”
Oscar scoffed. “Don’t judge people based on your own shallow standards. Did you really think Yunice had no one left to love her?”
Owen went blank for a second, then caught on. “The one who booked the hall-is it Wyatt?”
So Yuna hadn’t faked anything. The banquet hall really looked exactly like those photos!
Oscar’s response was sharp and cold. “Listen to me, Owen. Yunice wasn’t abandoned by you. From now on, she’s the one who doesn’t want you.”
With that, Oscar hung up.
Owen stood frozen, staring at his phone, unable to snap out of it.
He hadn’t abandoned Yunice.
The banquet hall he had arranged might not have been as luxurious as Wyatt’s, but he had poured his heart into it, planning every detail. Yunice’s survival was the one thing he was most grateful for. He had genuinely tried to win her back… So why does everything always go so wrong?
From the hospital room, Lily stepped out and said, “Owen, Elsie’s awake.”
Still reeling from Oscar’s words, Owen was full of frustration-but he didn’t even know who he was mad at anymore. Then he saw Lily and was suddenly reminded of the dress she’d picked for Yunice. The resentment spilled over.
“Mom, did you do it on purpose? When was buying a flower vase more important than getting Yunice a dress? Yunice and Elsie might be sisters, but how come Yunice always ends up in ill-fitting clothes, and Elsie never once had to wear Yunice’s hand-me-downs?”
His voice turned colder. “Mom, have you been taking the money I gave Yunice and spending it on Elsie instead? You’ve never once bought Yunice anything new, only made her wear whatever Elsie didn’t want-have you?”
Lily was dumbfounded, fumbling for excuses. “That was because Yunice wasn’t… clean. We were afraid she’d pass something on to Elsie, so we all agreed not to let Elsie wear her clothes. You were the one who said we should burn her old things until her illness cleared up, and then we’d buy her new ones. That’s how it’s always been. Besides, Yunice never even told me if she got better or not…”
Owen’s face went pale. He’d forgotten he’d actually said something like that. Years ago, they had found a gynecological diagnosis slip in Yunice’s backpack. It had happened right around the time scandalous rumors about her and Paul were at their peak. Everyone had jumped to the same conclusion-that Yunice had been promiscuous and brought it on herself. Owen had been furious and had said those things. He just never imagined Yunice had lived all these years under that kind of judgment.
He felt a growing discomfort-wanted to blame someone-but in the end, he could only blame himself. Lily reminded him again that Elsie had woken up.
How many times had Elsie fainted during important moments?
She fainted during Yunice’s SAT exams, on her birthdays, even after Yunice’s car accident. The only time she didn’t faint… was the three years Yunice spent in the asylum.
Suddenly struck by a thought, Owen stormed back into the hospital room, yanking Elsie’s arm. He demanded, “Were you really fainting, or just pretending?”
Elsie stared at him in shock, trembling with hurt. Laly rushed to her daughter’s defense. “Owen! What’s wrong with you? Why are you lashing out at everyone?”
“I just want to know why she always faints at the worst possible moments!”
“Fainting isn’t something she can control. Do you think Elsie wants this? If Yunice hadn’t stabbed her three years ago and worsened her condition-“