Leo sat rigidly on the hospital bed, his patience wearing dangerously thin under the weight of Amy's relentless presence.
The stifling atmosphere of the room made him crave the quiet mystery of Elsa more than ever.
Amy smiled widely down at him, leaning closer as if delivering a grand revelation.
"Do you know how much I like your songs?"
"I especially love that 'Love the Way' song."
"I absolutely love it."
Leo forced a weak, strained smile onto his face, praying for the conversation to end.
Amy clapped her hands together, her eyes lighting up with sudden excitement.
"Do you want to listen to that song in my voice?"
Leo raised a weak, dismissing hand immediately.
"No."
"Not right now, Amy."
"I am simply too tired."
Amy waved her hand dismissively, completely ignoring his visible exhaustion.
"Just listen to my voice and listen to my song."
"You are going to love it a lot."
Without waiting for his consent, Amy drew in a deep breath and began to sing the chorus at the top of her lungs.
"Love the way you walk!"
"LA LLLAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Leo's entire body tensed as the sound hit his ears, his teeth grinding in pure agony.
Her pitch was completely off, and the melody of his carefully composed love song was entirely butchered by her tone.
His frustration reached an absolute boiling point, and he screamed horizontally inside his own mind.
"What a horrible voice."
"She literally transformed my beautiful love song into a terrifying horror song."
"If real ghosts listened to her singing, they would immediately run away thinking a much bigger witch had come to take revenge on them."
"Oh God, someone please stop her."
Leo pressed his hands firmly against his ears, closing his eyes to block out the noise, but Amy kept on singing without a single care.
The heavy door creaked open, and Nurse Carla stepped into the room, holding a medical chart.
The moment the sound waves hit her, Carla froze in absolute bewilderment, witnessing the bizarre spectacle before her.
Terrified by the screeching high notes, Carla spun on her heel and raced back out into the corridor, shouting in panic.
"Oh God!"
Leo found himself completely trapped in his own bed, unable to endure another second of the acoustic torture.
"AMY!" he shouted, his voice cutting through her singing like a blade.
Amy stopped instantly, her face flushing with pure happiness as she looked down at him.
"Did you like my song, Leo?"
"Do you want to give me a big chance in your music audio company as a professional singer?"
Leo's jaw dropped slightly, and he stared at her in utter disbelief before answering her inside his head.
"Why?"
"Just so all my employees and listeners can die from listening to your horrible songs?"
Amy tilted her head, demanding an answer with an eager smile.
"How exactly was my song, Leo?"
"Answer me!"
Leo cleared his throat, choosing his words with extreme caution.
"I just came back from death to life, Amy."
Amy's eyes widened, completely misinterpreting his words as a profound compliment.
"Thank you so much!"
She lunged forward, grabbing Leo's hands tightly and squeezing them in gratitude.
Leo winced, staring at the ceiling as his inner monologue raged on.
"I am just happy you finally stopped singing, or else I would have literally jumped out of this hospital window."
"I am entirely unable to endure this torture, and I would have preferred to go meet my great-grandfather, Mr. Tyler Kingston, who is resting in heaven."
Amy released his hands, tilting her chin up proudly.
"How did you feel about hearing your own song performed in my unique tone?"
"I lost interest," Leo replied flatly, his voice devoid of emotion.
Amy gasped, a competitive smirk appearing on her face.
"Are you saying that means I actually sang much better than you, Leo?"
Leo's eyes widened in absolute shock, his mouth opening slightly at her sheer delusion.
"Tell me, Leo!" Amy insisted.
Leo rubbed his temples, screaming silently to the universe.
"Someone please save me from this living hell."
The heavy door swung open fully, and Thomas walked into the hospital room, clapping his hands loudly.
"Excellent, baby!" Thomas praised.
Amy beamed with pride, running over to her father and throwing her arms around him in a tight hug.
Leo exhaled a long breath, nodding politely toward the older man.
"Hello, Thomas."
"How are you, sir?"
"I am doing fine, young boy," Thomas replied, stepping forward.
"How is your health recovering now?"
"Much better, sir," Leo answered smoothly.
Thomas patted Amy's shoulder proudly, turning his sharp business gaze back toward Leo.
"Do you know, young man?"
"My daughter, Amy, is absolutely the best when it comes to music, and she is a massive fan of yours."
"She is a remarkably good singer, just like you."
"I think you definitely need to give her a grand chance in your music audio company."
Leo looked directly at Thomas, a sarcastic glint appearing in his eyes.
"Sir, have you ever actually listened to her songs yourself?"
Thomas chuckled, shaking his head dismissively.
"No, you already know, Leo, that I am a very busy businessman."
A grim smile touched Leo's lips as he nodded.
"Yes, sir, I know."
Leo remained completely silent, refusing to comment further on the matter.
Nurse Carla returned to the room, this time accompanied by Doctor Yash, who walked in with a professional expression.
"Mr. Leo, are you feeling okay?" the doctor inquired, looking over his charts.
"Not really, Doctor," Leo answered honestly, throwing a subtle glance toward Amy.
Thomas frowned, looking between the medical staff.
"What exactly happened, Doctor?"
"What is wrong with Leo?"
Doctor Yash scratched his neck, looking thoroughly perplexed.
"Our Nurse Carla and a few other doctors actually ran away down the hall after listening to a horrible voice coming directly from Leo's room."
A sudden surge of laughter hit Leo's chest, and he quickly lowered his head, pressing his hand against his mouth to hide his amusement from everyone.
Amy immediately stepped forward, her face turning red with embarrassment as she defended herself.
"You must be completely mistaken, Doctor."
"Me and Leo were entirely alone in this room."
"I simply sang a beautiful song with my very good voice."
"And Leo liked it a lot."
Carla stepped forward, her eyes wide as she tried to protest.
"But—"
Leo quickly raised his eyes, catching the nurse's gaze and giving her a subtle, firm signal to keep quiet.
Amy turned away from the staff, crossing her arms as she put on a shy expression, hiding her face.
"Leo is going to give me a massive chance in his music audio company very soon."
"I just know my songs and my singing career will be an absolute hit."
Leo lowered his head into his hands, the utter frustration giving him a headache as he turned to the physician.
"When exactly can I leave this hospital, Doctor?"
Doctor Yash nodded, reviewing the final assessment.
"You can technically get discharged today, Leo."
"But your body still requires a dedicated doctor and some serious recovery treatment at home."
"That is perfectly fine, Doctor," Leo insisted urgently.
"Arrange for the absolute best doctor to come directly to my mansion for the treatment, and I will personally pay whatever it costs."
"But please, just discharge me from this hospital right now."
"Because the air in this hospital is suffocating."
Doctor Yash agreed to the terms, stepping out for a brief moment to bring back the necessary formality papers.
Within the hour, Leo was officially discharged from the facility.
"Take good care of yourself, sir," Doctor Yash stated as they finished.
Leo offered a brief, polite hug to Doctor Johnson, who had assisted with the exit, and began to walk down the corridor.
The moment he stepped into the main hallway, a heavy wave of longing hit his chest, and he began to deeply miss Elsa.
The familiar, warm sensation of her presence enveloped him all at once, causing him to stop in his tracks and turn completely around.
He looked at the empty space behind him, the memory of his public confession echoing sharply in his mind.
He spoke to the silence of his own thoughts, a deep guilt tearing at his conscience.
"I am so sorry, Elsa."
"The truth is, I only used your name to escape from my forced marriage with Amy and her sister."
"I know I never truly had real romantic feelings for you either, because I closed my heart off completely years ago."
"I have a dark past, and whenever I recall it, my heart shatters and breaks into a million pieces."
"I can never share that past with anyone, not even with my own family, because I am a cold, broken man."
"I know you also never possessed any real feelings for me."
"But I don't know why what I feel for you right now is so completely different, and why I miss you every single second, every single minute."
"I was so deeply worried about you, Elsa."
"Where exactly are you?"
Lost in the labyrinth of his own thoughts, Leo didn't even realize where his feet had led him.
He came to a sudden halt, finding himself standing directly in front of the closed door of Room 106.
Inside that very room, the real, physical body of Leah lay sleeping on the high hospital bed, her frame covered in stark bandages and severe injuries.
Suddenly, Leo's heart rate began to skyrocket without warning.
The internal rhythm accelerated to a frantic pace, the sound vibrating so loudly in his ears that he could literally hear the mechanism of his own chest.
"LUB DUB, LUB DUB, LUB DUB."
Inside the sanctuary of Room 106, the spectral form of Elsa pressed herself flat against the wall right beside the door, hiding her invisible presence from his view.
Leo placed his trembling palm firmly against his chest, feeling the wild racing of his heart as he whispered a single name into the wood of the door.
"Elsa..."
On the other side of the barrier, Leah, existing as a fading soul, placed her own translucent hand over her aching chest, her voice a silent, answering echo.
"Leo..."