“Michael?” I called out, almost in disbelief.

He turned, and for a second, he just stared. Then, a big grin spread across his face. “Is that really you?” he said, his voice warm, just like I remembered. “I never thought I’d see you around here again!”

“Same here!” I laughed. “What are the odds?”

We chatted for hours that day, catching up on everything and nothing. We laughed over old stories, like the time we both got lost on a hike or how we’d leave each other notes in history class. The hours melted away.

Coffee turned into lunch, lunch turned into long walks, and before we knew it, we were calling each other every day. There was something so easy, so natural about being around him.

A few months later, Michael proposed. It was simple, just him and me, sitting by the lake one evening.

I didn’t hesitate for a second. “Yes,” I whispered, tears filling my eyes. Two months later, we tied the knot.

After the wedding, we drove to his family home, where we’d spent many afternoons as kids. The house hadn’t changed a bit. Even the wallpaper in the hallway was the same, and the old oak tree in the yard was still there.

“Michael?” I asked, sitting down beside him. “Is everything okay?”

He didn’t look at me right away. His eyes were on the notebook, fingers tracing the edge. “There’s… something I need to tell you.”

The tone of his voice sent a chill down my spine. “What is it?”

He took a deep breath, finally meeting my gaze. “This notebook is my mom’s,” he said quietly. “She kept notes… about our family. About something she thought was important.”

“Okay…” I said slowly, not quite understanding.

He handed it to me, and I opened it. Pages and pages of neat, looping handwriting filled every page. “My family has this… belief,” he began. “A curse, actually. It sounds ridiculous, I know, but they believe it’s real.”

“A curse?” I asked, eyebrows raised, trying to hide my skepticism.

I almost laughed but stopped myself when I saw the worry in his eyes. “Michael, you don’t really believe this, do you?”

He ran a hand through his hair, looking torn. “I don’t know. I’ve always told myself it’s just an old family superstition. But… I’ve seen things, you know? My dad’s marriage to my mom wasn’t exactly smooth. My uncle — well, let’s just say things ended badly for him, too.”

I took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Look, that doesn’t mean anything. Marriages are hard for a lot of people.”

He gave a faint smile, but his eyes still looked troubled. “Maybe you’re right,” he said, though he didn’t sound convinced.

A week after the wedding, small misfortunes began to pile up. First, it was a flat tire right before we departed for our honeymoon, leaving us unable to drive anywhere.

“Just bad luck,” I told him, forcing a laugh.

Then, someone broke into our house. Nothing important or valuable was stolen, but the psychological damage was done.

Michael noticed, too. “You think this… this curse could be real?” he asked one night, his voice low.

“Of course not,” I replied quickly, though I was starting to doubt myself. “There has to be an explanation for all of this. Maybe it’s just… I don’t know… a phase.”

After the call, I placed my phone down on the couch and picked up a book, settling in to read. But as I turned the page, I heard voices. The phone was still connected.

“Do you really think this curse nonsense is still working?” Michael’s father asked her, sounding exasperated.

Without thinking, I immediately pressed the record button.

“Enough, Marianne,” he replied. “You’ve already scared off enough good women from our sons.”

“If they aren’t right for my boys, I’ll do what I have to,” she said, her tone cold. “I know what’s best for them.”

My stomach turned. I ended the call, feeling numb, replaying her words in my mind. All those strange things — the flat tire, the bad reviews — they were her doing. There was no curse. It was all a lie, a twisted trick to control her sons and their wives.

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—”

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.”

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.”

“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.”

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.

This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.