Page 139 of Invisible Bars
I stayed frozen in place, barely breathing, barely blinking.
He sees me. He wants to protect me… maybe even loves me.
His dad let out a slow whistle, clearly surprised.
“Well,” he said with a chuckle. “Now I gotta re-evaluate if you’re really my son. That almost sounded like romance.”
Imanio grumbled, “Man, stop.”
His father laughed louder. “No, seriously. Who knew the Grim Reaper of Real Estate had feelings? All this time, I thought you were emotionally constipated.”
I had to bite my lip to keep from giggling—and to keep from making noise. But deep down, behind the nerves and uncertainty, I felt a small spark of something unfamiliar but warm. I wasn’t naïve. I knew words could be hollow, but his didn’t sound like empty promises; they sounded… honest.
Hearing enough, I stepped away quietly from the hallway wall, pretending I hadn’t heard anything. With the apple still in my hand, I walked back toward the bedroom—my footsteps light, my thoughts loud. And for the first time since all of that started, I didn’t feel like a prisoner in that house; I feltwanted.
Chapter Twenty
IMANIO “GATEZ”
My father looked at me for a long second, then leaned back again with a sigh, his expression shifting.
“Well, since we’re being honest... I’ve got a little secret too.”
I turned slightly, brow raised. “Oh yeah?”
“I’m divorcing your mother,” he announced like he was finally taking out the trash.
Just like that. No hesitation. No sadness. Not even a trace of guilt.
Divorce?
For a second, the word didn’t quite land.
I stared at him, waiting for the punchline that never came.
“You serious?”
“As a root canal without anesthesia,” he replied. “I’m not happy, son. And if I’m being honest, I haven’t been foryears.Your mother is… exhausting. She always has to be the loudest, the rightest, the one pulling all the strings. Nothing is ever enough unless she’s controlling it. And you—” he looked at me, “—you know that better than anyone when it comes to that.”
I let out a breath, leaned forward, and rubbed my jaw. “Yeah. I do.”
“Now imagine about twenty years of that. And I’m not counting all the years we’ve been together; just the ones when she forgot who she was. I stayed for a lot of reasons—you and your sister’s childhood, appearances, business... but I’m done pretending it’s worth it.”
A silence fell between us—not heavy, but real.
“Besides, I’ve met someone else,” he revealed, shocking the hell out of me.
“Nah now.”
“I have. She’s from the Caribbean Islands. I’ve been seeing her for a while now—nothing scandalous. Just peace. She's calm, kind, and knows how to laugh. It’s... different.”
That’s when it clicked.
The random trips. The last-minute flights. Him staying gone longer each time.
Pops pulled out his phone and showed me a photo of the lady. She was a dark-skinned woman with locs, glowing skin, and had a beautiful smile… and shape, may I add.
“She’s beautiful,” I complimented. “AndBlack.Giselle gon’ lose her mind.”
