Chapter 293: Unspoken Boundaries
Morgan was shaking with fear, frozen like someone had hit a pause button on his body. He couldn’t move an inch. His face said it all—pure terror directed straight at Yunice. She acted like the sweet, harmless type, but she was far from it.
By the time Wyatt came back into the room, Morgan had already fallen asleep. Yunice pulled out the needles one by one, then said with a smirk, “Man, I wish I could sleep like that. Young people—knock out the second their head hits the pillow.”
Wyatt asked, “How is he?”
Yunice answered casually, “Just some minor injuries. He’s young and in good shape. As long as he takes it easy for the next few months, he’ll be fine—no lasting damage.”
Whether Wyatt believed her or not, he didn’t question it further. Deep down, Yunice could tell—Wyatt gave her a kind of slack he didn’t offer to others. She didn’t believe for a second that he didn’t suspect something. But as long as she didn’t leave Morgan seriously injured—or worse—Wyatt would look the other way.
When they left the hospital, Mary still hadn’t said a word to Yunice. Yunice returned the favor, treating Mary like she didn’t even exist. As long as Wyatt was on her side, life stayed easy. Nothing else mattered.
Back at Pavilion Hall, Yunice headed straight to the kitchen. There were housekeepers around, but she liked doing things herself. Wyatt followed her in. When he saw her grab tomatoes, he went to the fridge, pulled out some cilantro, and started plucking the leaves at a relaxed pace. He flipped his phone face-down on the counter, clearly still on a call. His voice was tense.
“Don’t let that paper show up in front of me again.” Yunice glanced over while slicing the tomatoes. Then Wyatt lowered his voice and asked whoever was on the other end, “Oh, you think this is funny?”
A voice crackled faintly through the speaker. “Wyatt, the competition’s having a field day with this.”
Yunice’s ears perked up. She kept chopping but inched a little closer to where Wyatt was standing. What’s going on? What’s so funny? Wyatt shot her another look. Yunice acted like she hadn’t noticed, casually scooped the tomatoes into a bowl, then switched cutting boards and started on the beef.
Then Wyatt muttered into the phone, “Fine. Get me a language tutor.”
Yunice was straining to catch every word, totally lost in the drama and itching to ask—but Wyatt ended the call before she had the chance. He looked over at her. “Did you catch any of that?”
Yunice blinked, totally innocent. “Catch what?”
Wyatt said, “Nothing.” Then he picked up the other half of the beef she’d left and began slicing it into thin strips.
The two of them stayed in the kitchen, quietly working side-by-side—each focused on their own task, not saying another word. Yunice made cilantro-lime beef stir-fry. Wyatt went with beef taco bowls.
While reaching for ingredients, their hands occasionally brushed. When Wyatt reached for the salt, Yunice waited for him to finish before adding her own.
At the dining table, the house staff stood quietly behind them, ready to serve—but after a few minutes of waiting for cues, they realized there was nothing to do. Wyatt went back for more stir-fry. Yunice helped herself to another scoop of the taco bowl.
Neither of them was picky. No arguments, no awkward tension—just two people enjoying good food. For some reason, Yunice—usually so tense—felt surprisingly at ease. Weird, she thought. I actually feel more comfortable eating with Wyatt than I ever did at the Saunders family dinner table.
Just as they were setting down their utensils, Wyatt’s phone rang again. He lifted it and answered—this time on speaker.
“Wyatt, I found a few top-tier foreign language tutors, but…” Jordan’s voice trailed off awkwardly.
Wyatt’s tone darkened. “But what?”
Jordan sighed and gave up trying to sugarcoat it. “They all said your basics are too weak. They’re afraid tutoring you will ruin their reputation. No one wants to take the job.”
The mood in the room shifted immediately. The air felt heavier. Yunice glanced up, hesitating. “Wait, what kind of tutor are we talking about?”
Wyatt looked over, clearly debating whether or not to tell her. But before he could respond, Jordan recognized Yunice’s voice through the speaker. “Mrs. Cooper… You’re there too?”
Jordan hesitated. “You… haven’t seen the news, have you?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Wyatt got roasted at the press conference. His delivery was… not great, and, well—the media tore him apart. Someone even turned it into a meme video. It’s all over the internet.”
Yunice blinked. A meme video? She considered herself a certified internet junkie—how had she not seen this? Then again, she rarely ever came across negative news about Cooper Group. Wyatt’s PR team and legal department were legendary. If he wanted something buried, it disappeared fast.
Yunice stayed quiet, processing. On the line, Jordan sighed again. “Mrs. Cooper, I’m out of options here. Do you have any ideas?”