Impact!

That evening, Mrs. Anderson, his mother-in-law, was waiting for Mike to come home with patience, occupying the same seat that she usually did.

After talking to her daughter, she was unable to determine the source of his newly found confidence.

The only thing she had ever dreamed of was making Michael's life as miserable as possible so that he would not have the courage to show up at her doorstep prepared to marry her daughter when he had arrived as the impoverished boy ready to wed her.

Mike arrived shortly after she finished her second coffee sip, appearing exhausted and failing to acknowledge her as he made his way to his bedroom.

"Would you hold up? When did this reactions become nofmal? And since when do you come inside my house and ignore me?" She pestered.

"I apologise and I promise not to do that again. I was a little stressed out." Mike continued to explain what happened when Mrs. Anderson raised her hands to slap Mike in an attempt to seize control of the house.

He instinctively grabbed her hand in the middle and gently pushed her away.

"Avoid taking that action! He turned away from her and continued, "I am a man, and I deserve to be respected as a man," as he ascended the stairs.

Mrs. Anderson froze, her hand still raised to the point where it was going to slap her son-in-law Mike across the cheek.

Deep lines of confusion appeared on her face as she attempted to comprehend what had just transpired.

Mike had stopped her with a firm hand and stern look; he was usually courteous and quick to apologise even when he was not at fault.

Mrs. Anderson was taken aback by his sudden and drastic change in behaviour.

Mrs. Anderson's mind raced as she tried to make sense of the situation. Why had Mike, the gentle and understanding and lowlife of a son-in-law she had come to know, suddenly stood up to her? What had provoked him to react so differently this time? The questions swirled in her mind, but answers eluded her, adding to her bewilderment.

Something must have happened!

Maybe he had been stricken by some lightening because he had become too confident and it disturbed her too much.

Mrs. Anderson was standing there confused, trying to figure out what to do and how to handle the situation when she heard the front door open. She turned to see her daughter walking into the house.

Upon seeing her daughter's tear-streaked face, she was not greeted warmly. As Mrs. Anderson observed her daughter's heightened expression of distress, her confusion grew.

Mrs. Anderson approached her daughter, trying to figure out what had happened, her confusion mixed with concern. "My dear, what is wrong? She asked in a worried-sounding voice, "Why are you crying?" She was aware that Elizabeth had gone out with Kevin, so she could not have been upset enough to cry.

Mrs. Anderson was even more uneasy after her daughter's response. She gave a twisted account of what happened, portraying Mike as the antagonist in their family's drama while feigning tears.

She took off her jacket and said, "Mom, Kevin told me the business deal we lost last month was because of Mike."

During the conversation, Mrs. Anderson's heart ached because she was conflicted about whether what was happening really happened or just her daughter's idea.

"How could Michael be aware of the deals when we hardly spoke with him about them? In addition, he is a lowlife who will not comprehend any business transactions unless Kevin provides proof of this," the woman questioned.

"Mum, do not you believe me when I say you should be with me? Kevin is extremely wealthy and will soon become your son-in-law, but you do not want to believe him?" She had an impish and slightly ecstatic voice.

Unable to shake off her sense of disbelittleef, Mrs. Anderson knew she needed to confront her daughter about what had truly transpired. Sitting her down, she took a deep breath before speaking, her voice tinged with concern.

"Sweetheart, I need to talk to you about what happened with Mike. Something isn't right, and I'm worried about you both."

"Why? What happened?" she asked finally looking at her mother's face .

She chimed, pretending to shake, "I was about to slap Michael this evening when he stopped me and pulled my arm down almost beat me up."

When she heard this, she ran upstairs and yelled at Mike for wanting to hit her mother.

"Hey, Michael! Michael???" She opened the bedroom door after calling as she ascended the stairs and saw that it was empty.

The door to the guest room opened, revealing her husband had just finished a bath. "Where is this imbecile called Michael?" she asked as she went for a walk, intending to head downstairs.

More shocked and stuck halfway.

"Why are you not in our bedroom?" She asked?

"Because the bed you betrayed me on is not where I can spend another night with you!" he exclaimed.

"What?" She questioned, "Why and who gave you the right to move about this house as though it belongs to you?

He turned to leave when she stopped him from going into the bedroom, saying, "I can not spend the night with you in that bedroom!"

With a fierce look in her eyes, Elizabeth stepped forward to face him. Her voice was so sharp that it seemed like a whip, yanking him back from shutting the door.

"You are so daring? "What made you think you could stop my mother from giving you what you truly deserved?" Her words were poisonous, every syllable soaked in disdain. Her anger was evident and her stature was formidable as she towered over him.

Mike moved a little to avoid touching her too much because she would cry that she had been beaten.

"You believe you are entitled to stop her? to stop her from imparting knowledge to you?" Elizabeth's voice reached a high note and reverberated against the walls.

Upon hearing her daughter scream from upstairs, she began to suspect that perhaps Mike was back in control.

"Hiding behind your weak justifications, you are nothing more than a coward. You would be lying on the ground right now, suffering the consequences of your actions firsthand, if it were not for your pitiful intervention."

"So what am I doing?" He asked her slowly, and she was a little afraid because his eyelids seemed to have darkened a bit more than they should have, but she had to face him now.

With her hands clenched at her sides, Elizabeth's expression verged on open animosity.

"Never again will you dare meddle in our matters. She spit out, "You have no right to meddle in our family affairs. Your words are full of contempt."

"How is it my meddling in your family matters when I said nothing about it and your mother tried to hit me but I stopped her?" He looked at her, seeing that she had grown a little scared and had strayed from the subject, and he asked, his face displaying a deadly smirk.

"This time, consider yourself lucky, but do not try to luck out more. I promise not to hold back next time. He was left reeling as she turned on her heel and blasted off, giving him one last glare.

However, he spoke as she was descending the stairs.

He declared, "I want a divorce," and then vanished into the guest room, leaving her almost unable to express her feelings as she tried to make sense of everything.