All Chapters of A Life Without Sunlight: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Then, I’m leaving." I hoisted up my woven sack."Go on, get lost. Go find that gold-digging mother of yours." Dad waved his hand dismissively, like he was shooing away a fly.Mathias Clark hid behind him, pulling faces at me. His expression was smug, almost triumphant. "Don’t come crawling back later, begging me for money, Ty."Without saying a word, I smiled and turned to walk into the rain. I hunched my shoulders slightly. The cold seeped in so deep it felt like it was coming from inside my bones.Honestly, it didn’t matter where I went. I just wanted somewhere quiet, somewhere I could endure whatever time I had left.No more listening to debt collectors pounding on the door for a gambling addict. No more breathing in that nauseating stench of cheap cigarettes.Mom’s black Mercedes was parked at the mouth of Maple Alley. The window rolled down, revealing her well-maintained face. She frowned as she looked at me, drenched from head to toe, a trace of disgust flickering in her e

Chapter 2

He was the one who drove Mathias to his death in my last life."You’re back?" His voice was flat, completely unreadable."Jonathan, this is Tyler." Mom gave me a small push, her face instantly bright with a practiced smile. "Tyler, say hello to your Uncle Jonathan."I stepped forward and gave a slight bow. "Hello, Uncle Jonathan."Jonathan turned a page in his book as if he hadn’t heard me. A few seconds later, he let out a quiet hum through his nose."Mm."His gaze flicked briefly to my wet shoes. His brow creased ever so slightly. "The carpet was just replaced."He lowered his head again, returning to his book. "The first room on the left upstairs is the guest room. It’s been cleaned out.""Thank you, Uncle Jonathan," I said.Mom visibly relaxed and pulled me toward the stairs."See? Your Uncle Jonathan is a good man." She lowered her voice. "As long as you don’t upset him, you’ll be able to stay in this house."The room was large and empty."Mom." I stopped her as she wa

Chapter 3

I settled into life in this house like a ghost.Jonathan preferred silence. Even the house staff walked on tiptoes.Every day, Mom tried new ways to please him. She made casseroles, gave him massages, and sat with him watching those dry financial news programs. In this house, she lived like a high-end housekeeper.As for me, I barely left my room except to eat. I cleaned out the storage room until it was spotless. Even though it was still packed with old furniture, the sunlight there was perfect. I often dragged a chair to the window and sat there for hours, basking in the sun, like an old man waiting for the end.Sometimes Jonathan would pass by my door. When he saw me sitting in the sunlight, he would pause for a moment, but he never said anything.The look in his eyes was strange, like he was looking at a reflection of himself.That afternoon at lunch, the table was quiet. The only sound was the faint clink of cutlery against plates.My phone suddenly vibrated. In the silence

Chapter 4

Jonathan had a secret.I knew, because I had seen it with my own eyes.In the trash can in his study, I found a pill bottle, just like mine. It was painkillers—the strong kind prescribed for late-stage cancer patients.That day, Mom told me to bring a plate of fruit to the study. Jonathan wasn’t there because he had gone to the hospital for dialysis.I set the fruit down and was about to leave when I noticed the familiar white bottle in the trash. I picked it up and took a closer look. It was labeled as ibuprofen extended-release capsules. However, inside were morphine tablets.I had used the same trick before. Putting life-saving medication into an ordinary vitamin bottle to deceive others and myself.So the man who seemed untouchable, the cold-blooded figure Mathias once called a monster, was enduring his own private hell.I put the bottle back and pretended I hadn’t seen anything.That night, Jonathan came home. He looked worse than usual, his steps unsteady. Mom rushed up t

Chapter 5

My hand froze around the chess piece, and my heart skipped a beat.He knew. Of course, he did. In this house, if he wanted to know something, nothing could be hidden from him."You went through my things?" My voice came out dry."You didn’t hide them well enough." Jonathan withdrew his hand and leaned back against the sofa, his expression indifferent. "Late-stage brain tumor. You could die at any time. Why aren’t you getting treatment?"Now that everything was out in the open, there was no need to pretend anymore."I don’t have the money. And I don’t want treatment." I looked at him calmly. "Even if I survive it, it’ll just be more suffering. I’d rather end it sooner."Jonathan fell silent for a long time."You saw the bottle in the study trash, didn’t you?" he suddenly asked.I didn’t deny it. "Yeah. I saw it. That’s medication for the dying."He let out a self-deprecating laugh. "I’m a dying man too."In that instant, the tension between us dissolved. "If your mom found out

Chapter 6

"I’m not going to beg him," I said.A sharp slap cracked across my face. My head snapped to the side, my ears ringing.At that moment, a cold voice came from the doorway."Who told you to hit him?"Jonathan stood there, his expression dark enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.Mom panicked instantly. "J-Jonathan… when did you get back?"Jonathan walked in, glanced at my swollen cheek, then at the book on the floor."I’ll give the $50,000," he said suddenly.Mom’s face lit up. "Really? Thank you, Jonathan."I jerked my head up to look at him, but Jonathan didn’t look at her. He was looking at me. There was something in his gaze, something only I could understand."Think of it as buying some peace and quiet." He bent down, picked up the book, brushed off the dust, and placed it back on the table. "Besides, I want to see just how far Mathias can push your father once he gets the money."Sometimes, giving money doesn’t help. It’s sending them further down their path."Mom

Chapter 7

"The doctor said that if there’s no intervention, it could happen at any time…"He didn’t finish the sentence, but I understood. I could die at any moment."That’s good." I smiled faintly. "Sooner than I expected."Jonathan looked at my smile, something bleak flickering in his eyes. "Tyler, you’re only eighteen.""So what if I am? Some people live to eighty and are still just walking corpses. I’ve lived eighteen years. That’s enough."Just then, a commotion erupted downstairs. Mom was crying and shouting."Mom, I don’t want to live anymore! I can’t do this anymore!"Mathias.He was here.I frowned.Jonathan stood up. "Stay here. I’ll go take a look.""I’m coming too." I threw off the blanket."You—""I want to see." I wanted to see what Mathias had become in this life after being crushed by reality.Jonathan didn’t stop me. He helped me up, supporting me as we slowly made our way downstairs.The living room was in chaos.Mathias was kneeling on the floor, covered in inj

Chapter 8

Mom broke down. She looked at me, let out a sharp scream, and collapsed.The house descended into chaos.Jonathan called an ambulance.Both Mom and Mathias were taken to the hospital.I went too because my nose started bleeding again and wouldn’t stop.The doctors treated me immediately. My nasal cavity was packed with gauze, so I could only breathe through my mouth.In the hospital room, Mom woke up. She sat by my bed, clutching the diagnosis report, sobbing uncontrollably."Why? Why did this happen? You’re still so young…"Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I was wrong… I was really wrong…" She grabbed my hand, tears and mucus smearing across my skin.I looked at her and felt… nothing."Mom, stop crying," I said, my voice muffled. "It’s loud."She instantly covered her mouth, not daring to make a sound, but the tears kept falling.Mathias sat on the bed beside mine. After his wounds were treated, he looked like a tattered rag doll. He stared at me blankly. The hatred was gone

Chapter 9

My condition kept getting worse.My vision blurred more and more. I could barely make out people’s faces, so I had to rely on voices to recognize them.Mom cried every day, her eyes turning swollen and puffy. She started turning to religion, chanting prayers in the hospital room. She said she was praying for my blessings, but listening to it only made me restless."Mom, stop," I said. "If there really were gods watching, I wouldn’t be suffering like this."She froze. The prayer book slipped from her hands and fell to the floor. "Tyler…""I want chicken casserole," I cut her off."Okay, okay, I’ll go make it right now." She hurriedly picked up the book and rushed out.I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat it. I just wanted her gone because I needed some quiet.Now, it was just Jonathan and me in the room."Uncle Jonathan," I called."I’m here." He traced words into my palm, letting me know he was there."I don’t want treatment anymore," I said. "Pull the tubes." My body was covere

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