Page 245 of Invisible Bars

My father straightened up, then turned to Giselle, voice low but pointed.

“We’ll leave. But before we do, you owe usandour daughter an apology. We weren’t perfect, no. But she didn’t deserve to be ambushed, and neither did we.”

Giselle scoffed loudly. “I’m not?—”

Imanio’s head snapped toward her, slow and lethal, like a cobra about to strike.

She immediately froze under his scrutinizing gaze, recognizing the dangerous shift in the atmosphere. And just like that, her tone changed.

With a tightness in her throat, Giselle managed to utter, “I’m… sorry,” each word emerging through her clenched teeth, as if every syllable extracted cost her an organ.

That woman was pitiful.

As my family turned to leave, I just watched. I didn’t move or speak. My throat tightened like it knew better than to let anything out.

My sister glanced back for only a second—her eyes wide, soft, and unsure, like she wanted to say something but didn’t know how. She hadn’t said a word the entire time. My mom looked down, her mouth pressed in a line of guilt, and my father… he wore that quiet weight that spoke more of regret than anything else. Before stepping out, my mom quietly said they were staying at the Ellington Grand downtown, if I wanted to talk—I didn’t respond.

Giselle’s voice was low and bitter as she spoke to Imanio, laced with the kind of venom only pride could produce.

“I’m really convinced you love embarrassing me now,” she gritted through clenched teeth.

“You embarrassed yourself, Giselle… you always do,” he replied coolly. “All I did was give you the audience. But then again…youalways bring the audience too.”

“And marrying her? You just did it to make me the mockery of this town, huh?”

Imanio’s demeanor darkened at the mention of me.

As he approached her, the energy in the room shifted. Everyone shrank back in their chairs. Even Chi put his damn fork down and whispered,“Oh, shit.”

Imanio’s voice dropped to that tone—the one I’d only heard a handful of times before. It was cold, quiet, and terrifying.

“You really think me marrying Naji was because ofyou? That I brought her into my life—into my crib, into my personal space, into my soul—just to spite you or give a damn what other muthafuckas would say about you? You really thinkyou’rethat important?”

He chuckled, but there wasn’t a drop of humor in it. It was the kind of laugh that warned a person torun.

“This right here?” He gestured toward the room. “This façade of a dinner, these theatrics, flying in her past like it’s a party favor… this shit isn’t love or healing; it’s control! You didn’t do this for Naji; you did this to feel powerful… like you won!”

Imanio stepped even closer, eyes never left Giselle’s as he continued.

“Here’s the plot twist—you failed. You wanted to turn tonight into a show, but this isn’t your stage. And whatever play you were directing… it flopped. And now you’re sitting in the aftermath, wondering why it stank. Bullshit always does!”

I clutched my chest dramatically, and my lips twitched into a grin.

“You manipulative mouthpiece for misery!”

Giselle’s face cracked in places she probably didn’t know could break. Her expression was crushed, and her lips twitched like they wanted to curl into something dignified but couldn’t find the strength. She blinked fast, like that might even keep the humiliation from setting in.

Renee finally jumped back in. I was wondering when she’d put her two cents in on that subject. She seemed like the typewho never missed an opportunity to call Giselle out on her bullshit.

“You done flew these folks in like you was booking a concert. You thought you was gon’ get a standing ovation and ended up with a silent damn prayer.”

Mama Rose scoffed quietly, shaking her head.

“Giselle… I done seen petty in my day, but this? This is someone trying to play God with somebody else's trauma.It ain’t just out of line… It’s out of character—for the woman Ihopedyou’d grow into. I expected better from you… tonight at least. Not to mention, I raised you better than this! And I say that with aheavyheart.You don’t bring someone’s pain to the table dressed up like a gift.This girl has been through hell and finally found some peace, and you tried to shatter it in one night. For what?”

Mama Rose exhaled, voice lower now.

“This child nor her family deserved this, and you know it. If you really cared about healing, you’d start by learning how to stop hurting people in the name of love!”