Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
Quinton had already gotten into his car when Owen shouted angrily, “We don’t want your stuff. Take it back!”
He grabbed the gift boxes and stormed toward the car, ready to throw them in. Quinton rolled down the window. “These presents are for Yunice. If she wants to refuse them, that’s her choice, not yours.”
Elsie quickly stopped Owen. “Owen, maybe Mr. Quinton is Yunice’s friend. Why don’t we wait for her to make up her mind?”
Owen hesitated for a second. But by then, Quinton had already rolled up the window and driven away. As he carried the boxes back into the living room, Owen was still furious when he called Yunice.
I can’t understand why Quinton was trying to win Yunice over instead of me. But like so many times before, the call went unanswered, as if it had fallen into a bottomless pit.
Meanwhile, Elsie and Lily stood in front of the gifts, marveling at the extravagant offerings. Quinton was rich, and he sent nothing ordinary. Aside from the rare wild ginseng as thick as two thumbs, the most eye-catching item was the emerald-green jadeite bracelet.
Lily picked up the jadeite bracelet in admiration. “Is that emerald green? The last time Linda came over, I saw she had one too. The luster looked almost the same as this one…” As she spoke, she placed the jadeite bracelet next to Elsie’s wrist, complimenting, “See? It suits you so well. It makes your skin look even fairer.”
Elsie’s cheeks flushed. She thought the jadeite bracelet was beautiful, too, and before she knew it, she had slipped it on her wrist. Lily admired it. “I was right, wasn’t I? You look lovely in it.”
Elsie only allowed herself a moment of enjoyment before trying to take it off. “This is Yunice’s. I shouldn’t even touch it…” But just then, she let out a soft gasp and looked embarrassedly at Lily.
Owen happened to catch the moment, put down his phone, and came over worriedly. “What happened?” Tears welled in Elsie’s eyes. “I can’t get the bracelet off. The one Mr. Quinton gave Yunice…” She quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, Owen, I shouldn’t have touched her things. But I promise, I’ll get it off somehow…”
She pulled hard, her wrist turning red, but the bracelet didn’t budge. Tears began to fall as she kept pulling. Owen finally reached out to stop her. “It’s just a jadeite bracelet. Don’t hurt yourself over it.” “But she’ll be mad at me…” Elsie’s tears fell to the floor.
“She only wore it for a second; it’s not like you’re taking it. Why would she be mad?” He added with a frown, “Besides, who knows when she’ll be back? Just give it back to her when she does.”
Elsie nodded with tears in her eyes. “I’ll try again later. I’ll give it back when she comes back.” Owen nodded slightly and went upstairs.
The moment he left, Elsie pulled out her phone and took a series of selfies, nine in all, each carefully showing off the emerald-green jadeite bracelet on her wrist. After editing, she posted them to her social media with the caption: “Earn without guilt, spend without hesitation. Love an independent life. Be your own queen.” Before hitting send, she made sure to hide the message from her family. Then she happily put her phone away and went to examine Yunice’s other gifts.
Lily picked up the beautifully wrapped ginseng root. “This is premium. If you gave this to your future father-in-law, he’d definitely see you in a new light.”
Lily had always believed that there was nothing wrong with Elsie; she just lacked a good family background. A person needs the right appearance, just as a horse needs a good saddle. She refused to believe that dressing Elsie in high-end luxury wouldn’t make her a first-class socialite.
Elsie smiled. “I know several herb dealers who carry this quality. I’ll get one and send it to the Powell family.” Lily sighed. Elsie looked at her curiously.
Elsie’s good mood vanished instantly. Jealousy flashed in her eyes. “Yunice acts like she’s above it all, but behind the scenes she’s the best at stealing opportunities. I met Quinton first, but somehow she managed to steal him away. Who knows what tricks she used.”
Lily said, “Maybe Quinton wasn’t buttering up Yunice. He gave her a wedding present-probably aimed at Wyatt. The one you need to keep an eye on is Paul. They’re not even officially married yet. He can afford to stall. You can’t.”
Elsie’s face went stiff. She bit her lip and didn’t answer. Lily sensed something was wrong and patted her. Elsie finally collapsed in frustration. “I don’t think Paul ever really got over Yunice…”
“That’s impossible. He already broke off the engagement…” Lily said. Elsie said softly, “I saw him with my own eyes. He climbed through the window into her room and stayed there for a long time.”
Lily froze. Elsie’s voice quavered as tears filled her eyes. “She hasn’t been home lately. What if she’s been with him…”
“Don’t talk nonsense.” Lily quickly covered her mouth. But a seed of doubt had already been planted in her heart. A few seconds later she said, “At least Paul is still yours in the eyes of others. You must save him before it’s too late.”
But now they couldn’t even get a marriage certificate. How could Elsie secure anything? Lily reached out and touched Elsie’s belly. “If you’re pregnant with his child, he’ll have no choice but to accept it.”
Elsie’s face turned bright red as she lowered her head. “It’s not that I haven’t tried. I just can’t get pregnant. Maybe it’s because of that stab wound three years ago…”
Lily fell completely silent. A woman who couldn’t bear children was pretty much worthless in marriage. She staggered, then gripped the glass on the table as if to vent her frustration. “Why is our luck always so terrible?” she muttered bitterly.
Elsie touched the jadeite bracelet around her wrist. There was nothing she could do.
At Virtue Hall, Yunice was sitting behind the folding screen, working through practice questions, when her phone rang. It was a call from Margaret.
“Ms. Saunders, I caught these people. Want to guess who sent them?”
Yunice paused, then remembered Margaret had mentioned someone trying to ambush her at the hospital.
“I don’t know,” Yunice said. “It felt like everyone around me, except Wyatt, was trying to corner me. I was practically a rat running across the street.”
“It was Quinton Ford.”
Quinton was still after me!
Margaret said, “Quinton’s got some tricks up his sleeve. Should I tell Mr. Cooper about this?”
“No need,” Yunice replied. “Mr. Cooper has already warned him once. He probably wouldn’t dare hurt me now. No need to bother him about it.”
“You call him Mr. Cooper too?” Margaret teased. “You two are getting married soon. Shouldn’t you change how you call him?”
“It’s not a real marriage,” Yunice said.
“Still, you have to play the part,” Margaret said, then laughed. “Try saying it like this: ‘Wyatt darling-‘”
Yunice raised a brow. “Shameless.”
“Hahaha,” Margaret dropped the joke and said seriously, “Call him by his name. He’d like it.”
Yunice rubbed her temple. “We’ll see.”
After hanging up, Yunice pulled out the old phone Elsie had once given her. Sure enough, as soon as she turned it on, it was flooded with missed calls and messages. There were dozens from Quinton, a few from Owen, and one from Lily.
Yunice’s finger hovered over Lily’s name. After hesitating for two seconds, she tapped it with a blank expression. The message was sent two days ago. It was short. She apologized to Yunice, claimed she hadn’t meant to hurt her hand that day, and asked if it still hurt. She also said she wanted Yunice to come home and hoped she could make it up to her. Yunice silently deleted the message.
It was always the same. After hurting me without a second thought, they’d try to offer the same meaningless apology or compensation. I was sick of it. She didn’t even open Owen’s messages; she went straight to Quinton’s.
Quinton texted: “Ms. Saunders. I have heard the news of your impending marriage. I have prepared a modest gift and personally delivered it to your residence. Your brother accepted it on your behalf. I hope you will accept it with a smile.”
A detest was attached. The total value was close to nine figures.
Yunice frowned. That expensive, and Owen accepted it for me?
Just as she was becoming annoyed, Gill appeared in front of her like a fluttering butterfly, holding up her flip phone. “Yanice, someone’s showing off again! Help me judge, this jadeite bracelet is so green it must be fake, right?”
Yunice didn’t have Elsie on social media, but one look at the overly polished, influencer-style profile, and she knew immediately whose account it was.
Gill looked proud. “Targeted marketing. Look at my profile: male, overseas executive, just the type to attract a gold digger like her.”
Yunice grinned. Elsie had accounts. One for family and friends. The other for flaunting wealth and building connections. She fished for others and, of course, used grand gestures to her advantage. Gill’s just added the account. Now she scrolled through her carefully curated posts with a curled lip.
Then his expression changed. He furrowed his brow and exclaimed, “She’s disgusting! It’s bad enough she steals things; now she’s stealing your dad! Look!”
It was a post from two years ago. In a heavily filtered selfie, Elsie wore Yunice’s bracelet. The caption read: “A parent’s love for their child is shown in a thoughtful way. I will always be grateful for my father’s love. Thank you, Dad, for getting me this jade bracelet with the Confucian classic when I was sick.”
Yunice’s face went completely cold. This? More like a parody.
She continued scrolling. Almost every luxury item I owned had appeared in Elsie’s feed. Gifts from Owen were described as gifts from her brother. Even the Saunders mansion was listed as her private property. And the jadeite bracelet in Elsie’s last post?
Her
Yunice compared it to the gift list Quinton had sent. It was exactly the same. She had the audacity to claim it as hers, even saying she bought it with her hard-earned money?
Yunice stood up angrily. “Gill, we’re going back to the Saunders mansion!”
Gill still hadn’t understood. “What’s going on?”
The jadeite bracelet was a gift from Quinton. If I don’t claim it now, I’ll owe him. I have to take it back!
“Quin…” Gill blinked, then clicked. Wait, the bracelet’s real?
Yunice gave her a sideways glance. So what if it was?