Page 298 of Invisible Bars

Mama Rose scoffed incredulously, a bemused smile playing on her lips.

“As if my grandson would allow that.”

Her confidence in him made me feel both supported and more terrified.

I fell silent again, my chest tightening, rising and falling too quickly as if my ribs were in a heated argument, fighting for air.

My thoughts were chaotic—no, they were scrambling like autumn leaves in a whirlwind.

I could face a lot of things, but this? This felt too big, too final, and too close to something that could either break me or change everything.

“What if he…” I barely breathed the words aloud, not wanting to give life to my greatest fear.

Mama Rose’s eyes softened, glistening with understanding as if she already knew the dark place my mind was drifting toward.

“What if he what?” she prompted gently, coaxing it out of me.

“What if he’s not ready?” I whispered, my voice scarcely above a breath. “What if he f-feels like I trapped him or something? What if this ruins us?”

Another tic twitched at my cheek, a small tell that I couldn’t seem to control.

“My ovaries wasn’t supposed to win!” I shrilled in a mix of frustration and disbelief, the absurdity of the moment pricking through my panic.

Mama Rose smiled. “Naji, Imanio may be a lot of things, but scared ain’t one of ’em.”

I glanced down at my fidgeting hands, gripping the counter as if it could anchor me in this storm.

“But I’m not even sure yet. I could be overthinking this. It might b-be nothing, right?”

She stepped closer, her hand warm and reassuring on my arm.

“And it might beeverything.But whatever it turns out to be, you don’t have to handle it by yourself. That man loves you. You know that. Heck, we all do.”

My throat tightened at the thought of his potential reaction.

“But what if I tell him and then he goes quiet? Like he’s trying to figure out how to leave without breaking my heart.”

Mama Rose fixed me with that look—the one that said, baby girl, don’t underestimate your own power.

“Sugar… if Imanio doesn’t know by now that he found a woman worth building a kingdom with, then I taught that boy nothing.”

I sniffed, the impending tears threatening to spill over. A small tic flickered at my cheekbone, and I could hardly stifle the humor in my voice when I said, “Somebody tell the baby I said sorry in advance!”

Mama Rose giggled warmly, pulling me into a comforting hug, her arms enveloping me like a fortress.

“You gon’ be fine. And if he gets weird, I got bail money and two sharp earrings ready. But go on and talk to your husband,” she encouraged, nudging me forward with a motherly determination.

I put a hand over my stomach—flat, soft, unassuming.

Could there truly be a life beginning to blossom in that quiet space? What if I was about to become a mother?

My thoughts raced to Imanio.

How would he react if I shared the news? Would his entire demeanor shift in an instant? What if he took a step back, overwhelmed by the thought? Would he think I had orchestrated this, that I had somehow planned for this moment when my own world still felt so fractured? He was aware of my past—the trauma I carried like an invisible weight. I knew I wasn’t completely healed; the scars were still fresh in places. What if he believed I wasn’t ready for such a huge commitment? Hell… was I ready?

I felt another wave of heat rise in my chest—panic.

Then a voice floated back into my head—Mama Rose’s voice: