Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Someone whispered, “Yunice, is your husband really not coming? Is he that busy?”
Another chimed in before she could reply, “Of course he’s busy-he’s running a huge estate, isn’t he?”
The crowd sighed with envy. “Yunice, you’re so lucky. You’ve got someone supporting you. No need to worry about money at all.”
Peggy, sitting nearby with a glass of juice, sneered. “Is your husband actually busy, or does he just not exist?”
She was baiting Yunice, hoping to provoke her into summoning her husband. She wanted to see for herself what he looked like.
But the one thing Yunice hated most was proving herself. No matter how much Peggy provoked her, she didn’t rise to it.
When that failed, Peggy changed tactics. “Yunice, weren’t you going to broaden our horizons? I’ve never seen a top-tier black card before. Do you even have one?”
“You mean this kind of card?” The butler casually pulled out a Centurion Black Card. “Our Madam has plenty of these. She misplaces them all the time, so we usually keep them for her.”
The group nearly dropped their jaws. Even Yunice was surprised, turning to look at the butler. He was really good at improvising.
Though Yunice lived comfortably in Pavilion Hall, Wyatt had never actually given her any kind of card.
Peggy stared at the card, jealousy written all over her face. “If you’re that rich, why don’t you buy us all tickets for a seven-day cruise? Show us what you’ve really got.”
“Peggy, don’t go too far! Yunice treats us like friends-you treating her like some money machine?”
“Who says being rich means you have to be everyone’s sugar mom? Yunice, don’t listen to her. We just wanted to hang out after lockdown, nobody’s trying to mooch.”
Most of the group was decent, and they quickly jumped in to back Yunice up.
But the butler simply smiled. “Are you talking about the 50,000-a-ticket cruise? Not a problem.”
“Mr. Wyatt said before he left that whatever makes Madam happy is what matters most.”
With that, he swiped the black card and said, “I’ve just purchased 27 tickets for the September 28 yacht party. Everyone will receive theirs in about twenty minutes.”
Peggy snapped, “There’s 28 of us. Why only 27 tickets? Is it because the card doesn’t have enough to cover one more? Yunice, if you’re gonna show off, at least don’t max out your card.”
The butler smiled calmly. “Only those who make Madam happy are eligible for a ticket. Ms. Peggy, you’re too unpleasant-better not ruin the fun for everyone else.”
Everyone burst into laughter. “We’re going on a yacht trip! Some people can stay home and sulk behind their screens!”
Peggy’s face twisted in fury.
Just then, the butler took a call. After a few low words, he said gravely, “Have them wait outside for now.”
Then he walked over to Yunice and spoke quietly in her ear.
Yunice frowned. “Why are they here?”
The butler replied, “They said they wanted to see you.”
Then added, “Mr. Oscar is with them.”
According to him, Owen and Lily were currently waiting outside Pavilion Hall. They hadn’t been invited, so they couldn’t enter.
Yunice had no obligation to entertain Owen or Lily-but ignoring Oscar wouldn’t be appropriate.
She looked toward her friends, who were still enjoying themselves.
Sensing her hesitation, the butler said in a low voice, “Ma’am, I’ll take Mr. Oscar and the others to the reception room. You can come up with an excuse to step away.”
That seemed reasonable to Yunice.
The butler left to bring Oscar’s group to the reception room. It was in a different section from the leisure area, so there was no risk of them crossing paths with the others.
Inside the reception room, Owen once again reminded Lily, “Mom, when Yunice gets here, don’t make excuses. Just be sincere. This was your fault.”
Lily nodded. She didn’t want things to end up in court either.
Saying a few soft words wasn’t that big of a deal.
Footsteps approached from outside, and Yunice entered.
Oscar and Owen both stood with smiles. “Yunice.”
Lily also stepped forward with a forced smile. “Yunice.”
Yunice got straight to the point. “What do you want?”
Owen quickly answered, “You’ve been married for a while now, and we haven’t even visited you once.” He looked around at the surroundings, clearly making conversation. “Seeing that you’re doing well here, I feel a lot better. Pavilion Hall is even more lavish than the Powell estate. At least you’re not suffering.”
Yunice replied, “It’s bigger than the Saunders family’s maid quarters.”
The jab wasn’t lost on Owen, whose face stiffened as he held back from responding.
He was here to apologize, and no matter what Yunice said, he wouldn’t argue.
Knowing she held a grudge, Owen quickly explained their purpose. “Yunice, we received the court summons. The moment it arrived, I spoke with Mom. She knows she was wrong. I scolded her already, and she’s decided to apologize in person.”
Yunice looked up at Lily, who now wore a humble, almost flattering expression. “Yunice, it was all my fault. I made baseless assumptions and caused you trouble. I’m truly sorry.”
‘ve Broken Sooner
After Lily finished speaking, she waited nervously for Yunice’s response.
Yunice was silent for a few seconds, then gave a soft “mm”-and said nothing more.
Seeing that she didn’t object, Owen lit up. “I knew it! We’re all family-of course Yunice wouldn’t hold a grudge!”
“Yunice, since you’ve forgiven Mom, let’s put this all behind us. Today’s a good day. Why don’t you bring Wyatt home for dinner? We’ll officially welcome him into the Saunders family as our in-law!”
Then he quickly added, “Oh, right! I was so happy I almost forgot-make sure you go withdraw the lawsuit.”
Yunice toyed with her fingertips and said coolly, “Who said I was going to withdraw it?”
Owen froze. “Didn’t you just accept Mom’s apology?”
Yunice gave a dry laugh. “I accepted her apology. But the law doesn’t. The exam proctors don’t. The SAT officials don’t.”
Owen blinked, confused. “What do you mean?”
“The summons-you read it, right? The ones pressing charges aren’t me. It’s the exam proctors and the SAT administration. Do you think her slander only affected me? She jeopardized the integrity of the SAT. She stirred public opinion. This isn’t just between her and me.”
Owen’s face turned pale.
Lily looked frightened. “I just said a few things. Is it really that serious?”
Owen cut her off, turning to Yunice. “Then what if you write a letter of clemency?”
Oscar hesitated. “Yunice, is there any way to resolve this peacefully?”
Though Oscar sympathized with Yunice, he also knew this incident going public again wouldn’t look good for anyone.
After all, a daughter retaliating against her mother never plays well.