I need you to hear.”

He looked at me, his brows knitted in concern.

“What’s wrong?”

I pressed play, and his mother’s voice filled the room.

Michael looked stunned, his eyes darting from the phone to me as he tried to process what he’d heard. “This… this has to be a mistake,” he stammered, the disbelief thick in his voice. “She wouldn’t… my mother would never—”

I took his hand.

“Michael, I overheard the whole thing. She’s been trying to break us apart.”

Finally, he looked at me, his face set with determination. “I need to hear it from her.

I need to hear the truth, from both of them.”

We arrived at his parents’ house late that night. Michael’s father opened the door, looking surprised to see us. “Michael, is everything alright?”

Michael pushed past him, his face pale with anger.

“Where’s Mom?”

His father’s face fell, and he took a step back. “Michael, please, calm down.”

“I am calm,” he said, his voice strained. “But I need answers, Dad.”

Marianne looked taken aback, her eyes flicking to her husband, who wouldn’t meet her gaze.

“What are you talking about?”

Michael held up my phone. “I heard you, Mom. You and Dad, talking about the curse.

Talking about how you’ve been… interfering. Scaring off women, making them think they’re cursed.”

Her face went from feigned confusion to a hard, calculating expression. “Michael, I don’t know what you think you heard, but—”

“You know what you said, Marianne,” his father interrupted quietly, stepping forward.

“There’s no point denying it.”

She whirled on him, her eyes flashing. “Don’t you dare!”

“Don’t I dare?” His father shook his head, looking tired and worn down. “I’ve kept my mouth shut for years.

Watched you chase off every woman Michael or his brothers ever loved. Watched you lie, sabotage, play with people’s lives just because you thought you knew what was best. It’s gone on long enough.”

Michael’s face crumpled as he looked from his father to his mother.

“So it’s true?” he whispered. “All of it?”

Tears began streaming down her face. “I did it because I love you, Michael.”

He took a step back, shaking his head.

“This isn’t love. This is control.”

A heavy silence fell over the room. His father spoke next, his voice weary.

“Michael, I’ve tried to reason with her, believe me. But she’s… she believes she’s doing the right thing.”

Michael turned to his father, his voice full of hurt. “And you let her do this?

All these years?”

His father looked down. “I was afraid of losing my family. I thought maybe one day, she’d stop.

That you’d be strong enough to… break free from it.”

Michael turned silent. Taking my hand, he led me to the door. Outside, he looked up at the stars, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

He glanced over at me, his voice barely a whisper. “I’m so sorry. For all of it.”

I squeezed his hand.

“We’re free now, Michael. That’s all that matters.”

But as we walked to the car, I felt the weight of the past, the sadness of a family broken by secrets and a mother’s misguided attempts at love. Michael’s heart would take time to heal, but we were leaving the curse and his mother behind.