Page 70 of Invisible Bars
Classic him.
T-Thank you,” I expressed.
Imanio’s gaze dropped briefly.
“Look, I’m… I’m sorry about all of this. This ain’t how I planned for shit to go either. My intentions weren’t to walk in, kill that nigga,thenturn around and kidnap you. That wasn’t the move.”
Imanio exhaled sharply, jaw flexing like he hated even having to explain.
“If I’d known anybody else was there… if I’d knownyouwere there—especially with a condition like yours—I would’ve handled it different. Found another way to take him out. Hell, maybe waited. But shit, it was already in motion.”
It was clear the apology didn’t come easy, and because of that, it held weight.
I just nodded, the tension in my shoulders loosening—just a little.
A moment of quietness followed.
“Th-thank you for getting those items for me,” I said, my tone soft but sincere.
“Welcome.”
I hesitated, then asked, “But why… why did you include the portfolio?”
My neck shifted slightly, and a tic slipped from my mouth.
“Staple my soul to cardstock—save the sketches.”
“Because it looked important,” he answered simply once my tic passed. “And you don’t want something like that ending up in the wrong hands.”
“T-True,” I murmured. “Thank you again.”
“Naji,” he said, leaning forward. “Again, I never expected none of this shit to happen, but it did. So now we gotta deal with it. Which brings me to what we talked about yesterday. Do you have an answer for me?”
I cocked my head to the side.
“Is this… really how you want to propose? O-On the patio? In joggers? Smoking a blunt?”
“Naji…”
My shoulder gave a sudden shimmy, and I blurted, “Romance is dead. Blunt bouquet. Jogger vows.”
If Imanio smirked, it faded quickly.
I sighed slowly and hesitated.
“Okay. I’ll… I’ll m-marry you,” I finally agreed, the words scraping its way out like it they didn’t belong in my mouth.
Imanio raised an eyebrow. “Yousure?”
“As sure as someone can be about marrying their... their kidnapper,” I stuttered, crossing my arms tight over my chest. “Super romantic.”
“Stop calling me your kidnapper,” he replied, eyeing me like I’d just insulted his character—the same character thathad,in fact, kidnapped me.
“It’s… it’s facts, though.”
“You could at least make it soundlessillegal,” he grumbled.
“Do you have a better word?”
