Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
His car was parked there.
Barely able to stay upright, Paul leaned against the elevator wall, vision spinning. He watched the floor numbers drop one by one.
When the doors finally opened, he pushed himself to walk-only to be greeted by the sound of cheering.
As soon as he stepped out, the cheering stopped cold.
He froze, stunned to see a crowd of employees holding glow sticks staring straight at him.
Most of the company staff were here.
It took them a moment, but someone finally recognized him by the badge on his bloodied chest.
“Mr… Mr. Paul?”
The crowd tried to hold back their laughter, but some couldn’t help letting out stifled snorts.
Paul’s face went pale. He realized his humiliation at Huaxin Pharmaceuticals was now complete.
This had to be staged-someone had gathered all these people here to watch him make a fool of himself.
But there were too many people who hated him to figure out who.
Someone even pretended to offer help, but Paul shoved them away and stumbled into his car, fleeing the scene.
Meanwhile, Yunice and Wyatt never made it back to West Court.
In the executive lounge, Yunice was bandaging Wyatt’s injured hand.
She kept her head down, focused on her task. Wyatt, however, never looked away from the top of her head.
He stared at her, unwilling to blink, as though he was afraid she’d vanish.
Yunice looked up and saw the redness in his eyes.
“…What’s with that look?” she muttered, uncomfortable.
He’d been looking at her like that the whole way here, filled with remorse.
Yunice knew her past might move people to pity-but wasn’t Wyatt overreacting?
“I’m sorry,” Wyatt choked out.
Yunice wasn’t sure what he was apologizing for. Anyone else could say sorry-but not Wyatt. He never had.
Wyatt reached out and pulled her into his arms. Feeling her chin settle on his shoulder only made the pain in his chest worse.
He wished he could kill Paul. It was all his fault-because of him, Wyatt had made so many wrong choices.
If only he had known… If only he’d known Yunice never loved Paul, then he never would have…
Wyatt shut his eyes tightly and hugged her even harder, as if trying to absorb her into his body.
“I’m never letting go again,” he said, voice hoarse.
Yunice’s heartbeat slowly calmed. She looked at him, not quite understanding, but for the first time, she felt truly… needed.
She tilted her head, resting her hair against his cheek.
She never thought she’d be believed again.
When it came to her purity, she could never defend herself. Even if it had been her first time, she’d never expected anyone to believe her.
Wyatt had surprised her.
She never imagined he’d sense the truth-let alone fight Paul over it.
But in the end, did it even matter?
She’d been slandered for so many years. She’d heard every cruel thing that could be said.
Some even mocked her, saying if she really wanted to prove she was clean, why not let them sleep with her once and find out?
The others laughed. When she stayed silent, they called her guilty-too afraid to answer.
There were times Yunice had nearly given up. She’d thought about throwing it all away, finding a titan to sleep with, just to make the rumors true-maybe then it wouldn’t hurt so much.
But every time that thought crossed her mind and she tried to pick someone, she’d feel sick. Every man seemed filthy to her. Just imagining being touched by them made her want to vomit.
And so, the years passed.
Yunice didn’t know why she didn’t hate Wyatt. Maybe it was the air of authority he carried that suppressed the usual filth of men. Maybe it made her believe he had too many options to even glance her way.
Or maybe he had desire-but he didn’t leer. He never used those degrading words to put her down.
He never asked if she was a virgin. Never cared if she wasn’t. It felt like he liked her-her body, as it was-without letting anything else cloud his judgment.
Wyatt’s hand gently moved to her lower back, massaging her waist. “Does it hurt? I heard the first time usually does.”
The tearing of the hymen could cause a moment of sharp pain, and initial penetration often brought discomfort.
Usually, if the man knew what he was doing, the pain would be fleeting-quickly overtaken by other sensations.
But Wyatt had left at the worst possible moment.
Yunice’s voice was soft. “It didn’t hurt.”
But it hadn’t been enjoyable either.
Today had dragged up far too many memories she wanted to forget.
Yunice lifted her eyes toward the full-length window in the lounge. The sky outside had already turned black, scattered with stars.
Noticing Wyatt’s injured hand, she suggested, “Let’s go home.”
When he didn’t respond, she turned her head-only for him to kiss her.
She was caught off guard, her neck tipping back as Wyatt’s lips moved lower…
Realizing what he was trying to do, Yunice murmured, “Your hand’s still hurt…”
And he was probably injured elsewhere too.
Wyatt’s voice was low, firm. “Don’t push me away.”
The hem of her clothes was pushed up. Yunice found herself laid back on the bed.
This time, Wyatt didn’t turn off the lights.
He wanted to see her clearly. And he wanted her to see him-wanted her to know it was him.
Under the intensity of his gaze, Yunice felt awkward. She reached for the light switch, only for her wrist to-be caught.