Page 39 of Invisible Bars
“I told you I wasn’t gonna hurt you… and I meant that.”
Although there was a hint of sincerity in Imanio’s tone, his following words caused me to tense again.
“But we gotta make some quick decisions.”
My heart sprinted ahead of my brain.
“W-What kind of decisions?” I asked.
My voice cracked mid-sentence, and my body gave in again. Before I could stop it, the panic erupted from my mouth in a burst of emotion.
“Birdseed! Don’t touch the biscuits!”
My face flushed with embarrassment.
“S-Sorry again!”
Imanio didn’t react with confusion or disgust; he just leaned in so I could hear him clearly.
“There’s an option we need to talk about,” he announced.“Marriage.”
My mouth parted like I wanted to respond, but nothing came out… just another twitch. My fingers fluttered, and my head gave the tiniest shake, like a doll with a loose screw.
"Hell no—choke on a crayon!"
The words flew out before I could catch them. My head tilted to the side, almost like my body was trying to physically reject what I’d just said—as if denying it might undo it.
Imanio’s eyes flicked to it, but again… he said nothing in response to my uproar—like he was mildly curious, not surprised.
I blinked again. “I—I’m sorry. What?
“Marriage,” he repeated calmly.
"I’m… I’m not marrying you! That’s i-insane!”
A sharp tension shot through my shoulder, followed by an uncontrollable spasm that seized my muscles—then came the tic, sharp and sudden, firing out of my mouth before I could stop it.
“Waffle wedding! Nope, no rings! Toast and run!”
Imanio waited until the tic passed before stepping closer; his voice even and quiet but firm enough to still the room.
“I’m not asking you to love me; I’m not even asking you to like me, but I’m giving you the truth.”
“I won’t do it!” I stated with finality, trying to shrink back into myself. “Y-You can’t make me marry you!”
He gave a slow nod, voice calm. “I won’tmakeyou… but I need you to understand what happens if youdon’t. If you leave here and decide to talk to anyone—that’s my life on the line. You get that?”
"But I’m… I’m not a threat to you!"
“And I believe you. But believing you doesn’t erase possible consequences.” He sighed. “Look, I protect my life as well as the image I’ve built. Marrying you means that, legally, no one could make you testify against me. It gives me a layer of safety… and you as well. Because if somebody else finds out what you saw, they won’t talk about options; they’ll just erase the problem. And that problem would be you.”
I went silent. The room felt heavy with the weight of his words.
“I’m giving you adayto decide what kind of story you want to be a part of; that’s more than I give most people who get involved in my world. You’ll be joining me for breakfast in the next fifteen minutes and we can talk more then,” he said more as a command and not a question.
My right shoulder twitched and my neck jerked to the side.
“More ransom than romance,” I grumbled, as an involuntary whisper escaped my lips.
