Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Yunice sat in the car, the window cracked just slightly, but Owen’s words came through loud and clear.
So in Owen’s mind, even now, he still thought she left because she had let him down?
He probably hadn’t realized that the bigger disappointment hadn’t even come yet.
After leaving the pawn shop, Owen and Elsie returned to the Saunders family home and gathered everything Paul had ever given-gifts, deeds, jewelry.
Then they charged over to the Powell family.
But what was humiliating was… they couldn’t even get the door open.
Just then, another car pulled up beneath the Powell estate’s arched entrance.
Yunice and Oscar got out of the car.
Yunice wore a loose-fitting qipao with a shawl draped over her shoulders. Without looking left or right, she walked up to the Powell family’s front gate and raised her hand to knock.
Owen saw it was her. A flash of something crossed his eyes, but he quickly remembered that Yunice had already cut ties with him.
His pride wouldn’t allow him to show anything else, so his face quickly turned cold again.
He turned to Oscar and asked, “Oscar, what are you doing here?”
Oscar gave him a sideways glance. “You alone represent the Saunders family now?”
Then he shot a look of disgust at Elsie. “When she made a fool of herself, it wasn’t just your face she disgraced.”
Owen swallowed his anger and asked, “Then what is she doing here?”
Oscar said, “If Yunice weren’t here, you wouldn’t even make it past the front gate of the Powell family.”
Even if the Powell family didn’t think much of Yunice, she had Wyatt behind her. Offending her meant offending Wyatt.
The Powell family still needed Wyatt. They wouldn’t make trouble for her over something like this.
Owen’s face flushed with embarrassment. Having to rely on Yunice to get in left him feeling humiliated.
Elsie was clenching her skirt so hard that the fabric was nearly torn.
Paul was being kept under house arrest in his own courtyard. When he saw Elsie, he was momentarily stunned.
But the next moment, his gaze shifted-falling onto Yunice, who had just stepped in behind her.
And then… he just kept staring.
Elsie noticed immediately, and her eyes turned red. She stepped in front of him, trying to pull Paul’s attention back.
“Paul, let’s break up. This is everything you’ve given me over the years-the car deeds, house deeds, jewelry. It’s all here. From now on, we owe each other nothing.”
“Break up?” Paul immediately flared up. “Why are we breaking up?”
Owen heard that and was instantly enraged. He stormed forward and said, “Do you even hear yourself? You’re already married, and you’re still trying to drag Elsie into this?”
Paul turned to Owen and said, “But hasn’t it always been this way? Why didn’t you talk about breaking up before? Now that I’ve run into some trouble, now you’re all cutting ties with me?”
His sharp gaze swept across both Elsie and Owen. “What is it? You realized there’s nothing more to gain from me?”
Before they could say anything, Yunice stepped forward with a faint smile, giving Elsie a sidelong glance.
“Ms. Elsie and Mr. Owen are very principled people,” she said. “Aren’t they here to return everything you gave them over the years, just to settle things properly?”
Elsie bit her lip so hard she nearly broke the skin. Hearing Yunice say that made her stomach churn.
She had thought Yunice came just to watch her fall.
Yunice continued, “Mr. Paul, the way I see it, you only have two choices. One, divorce Taylor and give Ms. Elsie a proper title. Or two, break things off completely, go your separate ways-just like we did.”
Paul looked into her eyes.
And for a long time… he just kept looking.
That one line-“Just like we did back then”-dragged Paul back into a flood of memories with Yunice.
He looked at the pile of gifts in Elsie’s hands and suddenly remembered all those years with Yunice. It seemed like he had never given her anything.
Back then, he treated Yunice like his live-in mistress, assuming it was only natural for her to follow him around and enjoy everything he had, without needing him to actually spend anything on her. So, even when they broke up, broke off the engagement, there hadn’t been any financial settlement.
Now that he thought about it, he really had owed Yunice a lot over the years.
Owen turned to look at Yunice. He hadn’t expected her to show up and actually help Elsie stand up for herself.
He couldn’t help but think that maybe Yunice’s bark was worse than her bite. Maybe she still stood with the Saunders family deep down. Otherwise, why would she bother getting involved at all?
Paul looked at the things Elsie was holding and said, “I really do love Elsie, but divorcing Taylor… that’s something I can’t do.”
The moment he said that, Owen nearly rushed forward and punched him. “Then break up with Elsie! And don’t you dare bother her again!”
Paul tried to smooth things over. “Keep the gifts. I’m not the type of man who takes back what I’ve given. You can have them.”
Elsie relaxed, thinking she’d just managed to hold on to her fortune.
But Yunice laughed coldly. “Mr. Paul, so from the beginning, you planned to keep Ms. Elsie as your mistress, didn’t you?”
Paul frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Yunice said, “Only a mistress needs financial compensation. Otherwise, why didn’t you and I ever have money involved between us back then?”
Hearing that, Elsie snapped, “Yunice! I won’t let you insult my relationship with Paul! You spend Wyatt’s money all the time-does that make you his plaything too?”
Yunice’s eyes sparkled as she smiled. “Do you know the difference between a wife and a mistress? A wife spending her husband’s money-that’s her right. But when a mistress spends a man’s money, the wife has every right to take it back. Got it?”
Yunice said “mistress” again and again, pushing Elsie to the brink of tears. Owen felt uncomfortable hearing it too and muttered under his breath, “Yunice, watch your words.”
Yunice answered, “She started the comparison.”
Paul interrupted them, “Elsie’s been through a lot with me. All those things, I gave them willingly. Just think of them as compensation.”
Yunice’s smile disappeared. She turned to Paul with a cold stare. “She’s been through a lot with you? And what about me?”
Her words made everyone in the room stiffen.
Owen scolded her, “Yunice! You’re already married-why bring up the past? Don’t say things that make people think you haven’t moved on!”
But Yunice ignored him. She kept her eyes locked on Paul and asked again, slowly, “The years I spent with you… were those years of suffering?”
He remembered those years. The things Yunice had done for him… and the things he had done to her. Then he looked back at Elsie, holding those gifts with red-rimmed eyes.
His heart felt complicated. He knew Yunice wasn’t doing this for fun. He knew he really had owed her.
But he said, “Even if you feel wronged, that was my fault. It had nothing to do with Elsie.”
Paul looked at Yunice. “Don’t take out your resentment on her just because you haven’t let go.”