Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Jensen’s face had gone pale. His expression was filled with hatred, but he couldn’t bring himself to say a single harsh word. He stepped forward and helped his son up, then left the hospital room with his injured son in tow.
Jordan finally let out a long breath. He turned to look behind Wyatt and noticed a faint damp spot on his black coat. “Wyatt, your wound…”
Every time Jackson beat him, it was brutal. And now, after that struggle, the stitches had probably torn open again.
Wyatt raised a hand, cutting him off. “Get out.”
Once the door was shut and no one was around to disturb him, Wyatt turned slightly and reached for the soft pink scarf still wrapped around his neck.
At Longevity Springs, in the Powell Residence, Jensen was red with anger. “Dad, are you really going to let Wyatt walk all over us like this? You’re not punishing him, and now you’re arranging a marriage for him?”
Jackson stood by the lake, brushing fish food crumbs off his hands, looking unconcerned. “What else do you suggest? If you’ve got the skills, go win me that plot in the Western Suburbs.”
Jensen fell silent. I still couldn’t let it go. “He broke Paul’s leg this time. Next time, he won’t hesitate to come for me!”
If we didn’t handle him now, who knew what Wyatt might do next?
Jensen’s eyes turned cold. “Maybe I should deal with the one in the guest house too…”
Before he could finish, Jackson shot him a glare. “If the one in the guest house could’ve held him back, that plot in the Western Suburbs would’ve been yours already.”
Jensen choked on his words. Is Wyatt no longer looking after that person? All these years, the Powell family had relied on that person in the guest house to manipulate Wyatt, making him work for them willingly.
Jackson snorted. We were all fooled. He made it look like we had control, but he’s been using us.
Jensen turned pale. If that person in the guest house had just been a smokescreen all along… then the Powell family had completely lost their grip on Wyatt.
He noticed Jackson staring into the lake at the koi. Jensen stepped closer and peered down. These fish… they look smaller.
Jackson’s face instantly darkened. “You can’t tell they’ve been swapped?” He muttered with frustration, “These Platinum Arowana could only survive in the ancestral pond – said to be blessed for generations. That idiot from the Saunders family actually managed to overfeed them to death.”
Jensen blinked, then suddenly understood. “No wonder you’re trying to match Yunice and Wyatt.”
He sneered. “A jinx and a bringer of doom. Perfect match. I had always worried that Wyatt would marry someone powerful to back him. That face of his was good at fooling people.”
Jensen continued, “Can’t believe I never thought of that useless girl from the Saunders family. Dad, your move is brilliant. If Wyatt marries her and cuts ties with the Powell family, then he’ll have nowhere else to turn.”
That was exactly the plan. If we couldn’t control Wyatt, then we’d weaken him. There was no way we’d let him overpower the Powell family.
Jackson added, “Paul still needs to grow. This injury should serve as a wake-up call. He needs to understand what it means to be the heir of the Powell family.”
Jensen flushed. My own son was useless, spending all his time chasing women. No wonder Jackson didn’t support him this time. He didn’t dare bring up Paul’s injury again. Worried that Wyatt might refuse to marry Yunice, he said cautiously, “Yunice doesn’t have any official records. Should I get someone to forge her an identity?”
The old man waved a hand. “I’ve already arranged everything. You don’t need to worry about that.”
Meanwhile, Yunice felt something was off. The pillow beneath her head was too firm. She stirred only when the smell of medicine reached her nose. As she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a black silk shirt. Its obsidian buttons shimmered mysteriously under the light. Realizing she was lying in a man’s arms, Yunice jolted upright.
Wyatt was lying on his side. Seeing her awake, he propped his head up with the arm that had served as her pillow. He looked completely at ease.
Yunice quickly scanned her surroundings. No one else was in the room except Wyatt. She reached for her collar, buttoned all the way to the top. Safe…
Noticing her subtle movement, Wyatt mocked, “You think I can touch you?”
I’m a cripple. That thing might as well not exist.
“No…” Yunice hadn’t been thinking that. She rummaged under the blanket, growing anxious. “Have you seen my scarf? The pink one with the fish…”
Wyatt paused, watching how much she cared about it. Then he pointed toward the nightstand. “It’s right there.”
Yunice stood barefoot on the carpet, picked up her scarf, and carefully inspected it. “Good thing it’s not damaged. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to return it.”
Wyatt cut in. “You don’t need to return it.”
Yunice looked at him. She was about to ask why, but then remembered something more important. “Let me check your back,” she said.
I still remembered how pale he looked before I fell asleep. It must have been from the wound.
Wyatt sat up without resistance, and Yunice reached out to unbutton his shirt. She had grown up around medicine with her father, so she had seen both men and women. To her, there was no sense of taboo. Undressing someone for treatment didn’t feel inappropriate at all.
But when her knuckle brushed against Wyatt’s Adam’s apple by accident, a strange tremor ran through her. Something flickered in her mind. Her face warmed, but she forced herself to stay composed. “Thank you for saving me today.”
Wyatt corrected her. “Not today. Yesterday. You’ve been asleep for seven hours.”
It had just passed midnight, so technically, it was the day before. Normally, that wouldn’t matter. But as he spoke, the vibrations from his voice resonated through his throat, and Yunice felt it on her fingers.
She tensed again. “How did you even find me?”
Yunice had thought no one would notice her disappearance, much less come to rescue her. So when someone actually rushed in for me, I was stunned. My nose stung, and tears nearly welled up. It had been so long since anyone cared. They say people who grow up unloved are the easiest to fall for even the smallest act of kindness. I didn’t want to let my guard down in front of Wyatt.
She swiftly undid the buttons on his shirt, then walked around to his back. Her hands reached in from the collar, spreading the fabric open along his shoulders. His back was wrapped in gauze, and a large bloodstain had spread through it. Just looking at it made her frown.
“It was Paul. He thought you were with me,” Wyatt explained.
Yunice touched the gauze gently. It was unbearable. She immediately moved to undo it and clean the wound properly.
Just then, Wyatt turned his head slightly, casting a glance at her from the corner of his eye. “I heard Paul’s…”
“Injured!” Yunice’s expression changed. Her hand froze. “How bad? Is he dead?”
Wyatt’s eyes darkened. “No.”
“Oh,” Yunice gave a short reply and went back to unwrapping the gauze. “With an injury this large, keeping it wrapped only slows healing. The constant friction makes it worse.”
Wyatt was momentarily stunned. I thought Yunice would rush to Paul first. They had nearly twenty years of history. How could she just walk away? He frowned again: she might just want to deal with me first before heading over.
Yunice kept working on the gauze. Because of the blood and fluid, parts of it had stuck to his wound. Peeling it off was like tearing through stitches-it hurt. Even though she was as gentle as possible, some pain was unavoidable. She glanced up at Wyatt and found him cold-faced, silent, bearing the pain without a sound.
So Yunice decided to stop holding back. She figured it was better to get it over with quickly. She unraveled the gauze in a single motion, then reached around his chest to pull the last bit across and handed it to her other hand.
Wyatt had broad shoulders and a large frame. Compared to Yunice’s size, the contrast was sharp. And the way she moved the gauze meant she had to reach around him like she was hugging him. Every time her hands passed in front of him, her body leaned in closer. Her breath brushed against his raw, aching skin, making him uncomfortable in ways he didn’t expect.
Feeling his body tense, Wyatt suddenly grabbed her hand that was resting on his chest. “If you’re in such a rush to see Paul, just go. You don’t have to pretend with me.”
Yunice blinked, unsure what she’d done wrong. She replied calmly, “Who said I wanted to see him?”
She pulled her hand back and continued unwrapping the gauze. “Plenty of people will visit him. He doesn’t need me.”
Only I and Wyatt are the type nobody cared about. Even if we died, no one would notice. Thinking of that, Yunice felt a strange sense of kinship with Wyatt. He reminded me of a stray dog, mistreated for so long that any act of kindness would make him bare his teeth first, not wag his tail.
The image of a muddy, rain-soaked dog popped into her head. Instead of being scared of him, Yunice found it kind of funny.
Wyatt had no idea what she was laughing about. He frowned and muttered, “Can’t you be gentler? I swear Paul must’ve sent…”
Yunice finally caught on and asked, “You can feel pain?”
Wyatt turned to glare at her. “Can’t you?”
Yunice fell silent.
Seeing that she still didn’t get it, Wyatt added, “You could at least do what you did last time when you gave me the shot. Distracting me is better than yanking it like this.”
Yanice glanced at him and thought, Back at the Johnson residence, when I had to give him an injection, I’d lightly scratched near the injection site to avoid upsetting him, though he still snapped at me afterward.