Shadow of Death (SOD)

Chapter 59

Morning came faster than expected, and Asher could be seen rising out of bed with a loud yawn.

He rubbed his face, his eyes heavy with tiredness.

Yawning once more, he got out of bed and stretched his body.

"That felt like the first sleep I ever had in weeks. Yawn.... Ah.... that’s lovely."

He walked towards the mirror with unhurried steps.

There, his reflection stared back at him.

He stared at himself for a few moments before smiling at his handsome face.

Though he was smiling, his reflection didn’t smile for a fraction of a second.

And then—

It smiled.

The time window was too small for Asher to even notice.

Rubbing his hair a few times while his reflection did the same, he turned away and walked towards the bathroom.

For some reason, he was in a good mood.

He didn’t even know why he was.

He just knew that his mood was strangely uplifted.

Today was Saturday.

Lucky for them all, nobody was going out.

Asher came out a few minutes later.

Dressed up, he rushed downstairs, where breakfast was already ready.

"Good morning, my lovely family." Asher grinned as he took his seat.

The others glanced at each other for a moment before looking back at Asher, confusion written all over their faces.

"You look fairly happy today. What happened?" Clara asked while settling into her own seat.

Jayden nudged his brother with his shoulder.

"Tell me, did she agree to your proposal?"

Asher lifted a brow.

"She? What are you talking about?"

Jayden smirked.

"My future sister-in-law, I mean."

Asher’s face flushed red with embarrassment.

"The hell?! You do know that I’m not like you, right? Stop projecting your thoughts onto my life."

"I mean, I also suspect the same too." Jesse chimed in with a smirk on her face.

"... You are usually moody but in a good mood today? Come on, spill the tea."

Asher grabbed the cup of tea in front of him and gestured as though he was about to spill it over Jesse.

He scoffed and then dropped the cup back onto the table.

"Fools. Can’t one just be happy in peace? Tch."

"Okay, okay, enough of the teasing." Jack cut in with a deep chuckle.

"Thank you." Asher heaved a sigh of relief.

Then he pulled his plate closer to his body and began eating away at his rice and chicken stew.

"I’m just happy that high school is done with. No more waking up as early as five AM to get ready for school. I’m so much relieved right now." Asher offered an explanation while still eating.

Jayden beamed.

"Ha! You think that’s all? Wait till you get to university and begin having eight AM classes with no option of missing it. You will literally go mad waking up at four AM to beat the rush. Hahaha!"

Asher’s hand faltered.

His mouth was full of food, his eyes widening in horror at what his brother was saying.

Forcing himself to swallow the food in his mouth, he found himself choking for a moment, but he quickly reached out for his cup of water and drank huge gulps.

Then he turned towards his brother with a horrified look on his face.

"The fuck you mea—"

"Asher, language." Clara retorted with a frown on her face.

"—Ahem.... I mean, what the hell do you mean that there’s more of this in front?"

Jayden shrugged and turned back to face his food with a grin on his face.

"Just thought to warn you in advance. Ha! Oh my... University life is crazy. A lot. You will feel like you wanna die, but you won’t. It’s just part of the process. Tests, assignments, and tons of classes here and there with no break."

The more Asher listened to his brother speak, the harder his heart pounded.

It wasn’t just nervousness anymore.

There was something about Jayden’s words that struck a strange chord inside him, as though he had heard them before. As though somewhere deep within his mind, those words were supposed to mean something.

At the same time, he began hiccuping.

Feeling the tension, Jayden chuckled and reached over, placing an arm around his brother’s shoulder.

"...But don’t worry, you will survive. But just in case, what is your favourite colour?"

"....?!"

Asher stared at him in confusion.

"Huh? Why?"

A second passed.

Then a wide-ass grin split across Jayden’s face.

"So I can get a coffin of the same colour for you when you lose your life in school. Hahahaha!"

"HEY!" Asher shouted, his face turning red with anger.

Jayden and Jesse immediately burst out laughing, even reaching across the table to high-five each other.

"Good one, big bro. Haha!"

Jack and Clara simply shook their heads at the antics their children were displaying.

Asher turned his furious gaze toward them.

"So you won’t say anything to your child? He literally just spoiled my mood."

Clara breathed out heavily.

"Jayden, that wasn’t cool at all—"

"Thank you." Asher scoffed.

A grin slowly split across Clara’s face.

"—Even though you are totally right."

"Damn. I’m done." Asher growled.

He pushed his chair backward.

The legs scraped harshly against the floor as the boy stood up, his irritation written all over his face.

He grabbed an apple from the table and turned away, leaving for his room.

"Ohoy, can I get the portion of your food?!" Jesse shouted after her brother.

Asher didn’t give a verbal reply.

Instead, he simply lifted his middle finger toward the girl.

Jack, who wasn’t looking in his direction, suddenly frowned.

"Asher...."

The single word was enough.

Asher hurriedly dropped his hand back into his pocket.

The laughter of Jesse and Jayden slowly faded behind him as he rushed up the stairs, chomping on his apple with each hurried step.

Jesse didn’t waste a second.

She reached across the table, dragged Asher’s half-finished food toward herself, and immediately began devouring it like a hungry beast.

Clara’s cooking had always been top-notch, and the kids constantly found themselves craving more, even after they had already finished their portions.

But despite that, Asher had always disliked eating anybody’s leftovers.

He didn’t even like eating with the same spoon someone else had already used.

He didn’t know why.

It simply irritated him.

Even if it was his family.

....

Asher found himself back in his room.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance before crashing onto his bed and reaching for his phone on the small table mounted beside it.

"Tch. Annoying people," he muttered.

He unlocked his phone.

For a few seconds, nothing seemed unusual.

Then a tear slid silently down the corner of his eye.

Asher froze.

He caught himself and quickly sat upright, a frown forming across his face.

He raised a hand and touched his cheek.

His fingers came away wet.

More tears were falling from his eyes.

Unconsciously.

Slowly.

As though his body was crying before his mind could even understand why.

"Huh? What is this? Did Jayden’s words get to me?"

He muttered to himself while staring at his wet hand, confusion spreading across his face.

He couldn’t understand it.

There was no reason for him to cry.

Jayden had only been joking.

Yet his chest felt strangely heavy.

His heart carried a dull, aching sensation, almost like he had finally received something he had been yearning for his entire life.

Something warm.

Something familiar.

Something he desperately wanted to hold onto.

But what was it?

He had no idea.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!