I remained silent for quite some while after he left, contemplating my father's words. It seemed like I wasn't going to be able to convince him to leave Michael alone until I managed to get through to him. Even though I had never liked Michael, I cared about him a lot. But I also cared about his happiness above all else, and if his happiness meant that his mother would die, then he had to be saved, at least temporarily. I couldn't allow my husband to continue suffering like this, and if this meant that I would have to protect Michael from himself, then so be it. As I turned towards the staircase, intending to head back upstairs to try and persuade Michael to go home, I found myself unable to walk. In fact, all of a sudden my vision became blurry. Something felt horribly wrong, and I began
