Chapter 4 : A Second Chance?

Michael lay quietly in his hospital bed, listening to his butler and doctor talk.

He had been conscious all along but chose to close his eyes because he didn't want to hear the long lecture from the two of them.

"Why hasn't he woken up, doctor?" asked Payton while looking at his master, who was lying weakly on the hospital bed.

"That's strange; he should have woken up by now. Let's just wait a little longer." Another voice that he was sure was his doctor's, Alex San Genis, said in a calming tone.

"He won't go back to that state, right? What should we do if that happens, doctor? Do we need a new treatment, bla bla bla" Payton asked again, and this time he gave a barrage of questions.

'Aish, old man, you're worrying too much! Instead of thinking about unimportant things, why don't you just try to find a mate? You're old, you know,' 

Michael thought, feeling annoyed at Payton's attitude, which he considered excessive.

"Hmm... for now, I don't think he will be back in that state. But that's okay; we'll check it out after he wakes up. How about we go to my room first to discuss this matter so that the patient can rest well?" the doctor offered.

"Okay,doctor," Payton said.

And not long after, the sound of the door being closed indicated that the two hyperbolic people had left.

Opening his eyes slowly, Michael sighed in relief as he stretched his body. It feels so sore when pretending to sleep!

After finding a comfortable position to sleep, Michael closed his eyes for a few moments before staring up at the ceiling.

"For a sec, I thought I was going to die there. I should have known that it wouldn't happen since it's not the first time I got this attack,' he thought while remembering the previous event, suddenly feeling stupid.

When he was lost in thought, the door of his room was opened roughly, making Michael jump up in surprise. He hastily pulled up the covers to his lower half and quickly returned to his original sleeping position while closing his eyes.

After a while, Michael didn't hear any voice, which was strange.

"Huh, why is it silent? I thought there were people who barged into my room' he thought.

After pondering for a moment, he finally worked up the courage to open his eyes, and he almost fell from his bed when he saw a slender figure with long hair backing him up.

"Is—is that a ghost?!" He thought, feeling scared, but brushed it off when he saw her clothes: "Wait, since when does a ghost wear a floral pattern dress?"

Clearing his throat slowly, Michael began to open his mouth to ask the mysterious figure.

"Who are you?"

Silence! 

'Is my voice too small? I'll try asking louder' Michael thought while clearing his throat again.

"Excuse me, are you deaf? I'm asking you! Who are you and why are you in my room?!" Michael asked, this time his voice is louder than before. And again, no answer!

Feeling irritated, Michael got off his bed and approached the mysterious figure. Once behind her, he immediately turned the woman's body to face him, intending to scold her.

But the reprimand vanished as soon as he looked at her face.

"Impossible!" he thought without taking his eyes off her.

In front of him stood the figure of a young woman that he had missed so much. Someone he thought had already gone far away to a place he couldn't reach

"Diana..." he addressed the woman, eliciting a puzzled expression from her. Before Michael could say anything, there were footsteps approaching his room, which surprised the woman and caused her to cover his mouth.

With panic visible in her eyes, she said, "We'll talk later! Please help me hide myself," she begged. Seeing how panicked she was, Michael decided to save the question and agree with her.

"Okay, follow me," he said while guiding her towards the curtain beside the bed.

"Stay here okay, I'll let you know if it's already safe," he said, to which she responded with a nod as she bent down. After the woman was out of sight, it was Michael's turn to hide by pretending to be unconscious in his bed.

Not long after, the door to his room was opened again. Payton, and of course with the doctor, entered the room.

"Look, doctor, there is no change! Master's condition is the same as before! Why don't we try to do a CT scan of his brain? Who knows there's a problem in his head?" 

Payton suggested after observing Michael's lack of progress.

"Hmmm... it's not good to be in a rush. But I'm kind of with you; he should have woken up since we left him! 

Wait a second, I'll go check on him. If there's no progress, I will consider having a CT scan done on his brain," Alex said as he walked over to Michael's bed.

The doctor only wrinkled his brow while examining Michael.

'Strange, everything looks normal; why hasn't he woken up yet? I have to finish this fast so I can go on a date with Emma' thought Alex.

Because he was too focused, the doctor accidentally dropped the pen that was on the nightstand next to Michael's bed. 

Sighing, Alex walked towards the curtain, which was also where "Diana" was hiding, to pick up the pen.

This made Michael panic. He was so afraid that his "Diana" would be found out! And before that happened, Michael immediately got up from his bed and screamed.

“NOOOOOO!!!!!!”

And his rash action succeeded in startling both of them! Even Payton's eyeballs almost fell from their sockets due to the shock.

Seeing that his master was awake, Payton immediately approached Michael and hugged him tightly.

"MASTERS! I thought I would lose you! I'm so glad that you're okay." He said this while tightening his arms around him as if he were afraid that Michael would disappear if he let go for just a second.

"Ugh– Payton, I'm okay, and thank you for worrying about me, but could you please let go of your hand? You're suffocating me!" Michael said this while panting.

'Gosh! Even though he is old, it turns out that Payton's hug is very strong! I should never underestimate him,' he thought.

"Ah, okay, master, I'm sorry about my inappropriate behavior," Payton said as he let go of his hug.

"EHEM"

A loud clearing interrupted their emotional moment. When they looked at the source of the sound, they automatically locked eyes with Alex, who looked very unhappy.

"I see you're awake already, Mister Alessandro?"he said, looking curtly at Michael and Payton.

"Well yeah, thank you for curing me, Doctor," Michael replied while scratching the nape of his neck, which didn't itch.

"I'm really glad to hear that. Okay, I'll prescribe some medicine for you, and Payton should be able to take it soon," Alex said, his gaze fixed on both of them.

"Okay, I guess I don't need to be in here anymore, so I say goodbye," he said before turning around and asking, "Oh, and Mister Alessandro?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you must be tired of hearing this. But sometimes, you need to let go, okay? Please don't punish yourself like that. If it's not for you, then please do it for her sake, okay?"

"I'll try" Michael replied, there was hesitation in his sentence when he said that, but Alex just ignored it since he couldn't wait to see Emma.

After Alex left, it was just Payton and himself in his room (with Emma, of course).

"Ehem, I will get your medicine, master. Is there anything else that you want me to get?" Payton asked as he turned his gaze to Michael.

"No, thank you. You have done enough for me, Payton," replied Michael.

"Okay, I'll leave you for a while, I'll be right back." With that, Payton also left his room.

After confirming that everyone was out, Michael signaled for Emma to come out of her hiding place, which she did immediately.

"Oh my, my feet are sore!  Ugh, luckily I didn't get caught," Emma said, sighing in relief while moving her legs to relieve the aches. "I've never felt this tense in my life."

'This is crazy, really crazy. Isn't Diana already long gone? But how come she's still alive in front of me? Michael, who had been staring at her from head to toe, thought.

'Should I try to touch her again? I just want to make sure if she's real. Who knows if it's just a delusion?"

By the time Michael was about to touch her, the woman suddenly turned around, startling Michael.

"Well, thank you so much for helping me. I apologize if my actions were impolite. But I must go now. See you," she said as she ran out of the room, leaving Michael alone.

'I think I really have gone mad' thought Michael as he tried to pinch his cheeks.