“There’s no sense in running away. You did something very serious,” Jared said, coming after me.
“I’m not running away. I just need some air.” I answered.
My lungs burned due to exposure to the smoke from the curtains catching fire in the curtains, when I threw the firebomb to scare the boys.
I went to the garden near the pool, where the mess from the party had already been cleaned up by the housekeepers. I took a deep breath, nice and slowly, purging my lungs and feeling relief.
The rain, that fell during that hellish morning, had already stopped and the sun was pale in the still hazy sky.
“Do you need a doctor?” Jared asked, still behind me.
How could he be so phony and pretend he cared? I made a mistake believing he was better than his brother. They were cookies from the same jar, otherwise he wouldn’t let those addicts come to the house and abuse the girls after the exhausting night they had.
I never saw anything as cruel as I did that morning. The guests from the party who had stayed with the girls the entire night, had just left when those three rejects arrived. I told them the girls were very tired after spending the night up and needed to rest, but they didn’t listen. They didn’t even wait for the girls to have breakfast and started an orgy right there in the living room, knowing they couldn’t refuse. They had been taught to never say no. not even when their genitals bled, not even when they were bitten and tortured, or had objects put inside them, they never said no. I had no other option but to intervene and stop them by any means available since Jeffrey was still sleeping and had been since before they arrived and I was forbidden to wake him to see what was happening. It even crossed my mind that he was awake, that he knew what happened downstairs, but he didn’t want to confront the friends who brought him drugs.
Although I knew I could be punished or returned for what I did, I didn’t regret it.
“You don’t have to pretend you care.” I said, looking at him. My treacherous heart beat fast when I saw his beautiful, masculine face. “You can stop the act. If you’re going to return me or whip me for what I’ve done, just do it.”
“Whip you?” He was perplexed. “We’re not in Morocco. We don’t whip people, although you deserve it for what you did.”
“Do I? You let a bunch of vagabonds torture and hurt fragile women, and I deserve to be beaten? You should check your logic, Mr. Harrington.”
“Now I am Mr. Harrington?” he said sarcastically. “I didn’t invite those guys, I didn’t even know what was happening. I’d never let them mistreat the girls.”
“The house is yours, and so are we. Nothing should happen without your consent.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but he soon closed it. He ran his hand over his short hair, like he was thinking about his guilt in all that.
“I’ve never had a harem before, ok? I don’t know how things work, but I assure you this won’t happen again. I’ll tell Jeffrey not to let his friends come here, and I’ll tell the girls they don’t have to do what they don’t want to, even if others ordered them.”
“You will provide them with a teacher to teach them things that are not about sex. Find them an English teacher. Ask them about other courses they wish to do. They can’t stay here for the rest of their lives. One day they will have to leave and they need the basic knowledge to live in this country.
Jared stared at me in silence, with that undecipherable expression in his dark eyes. Then, he finally spoke. “You’re bossy, aren’t you? Where did you learn that? Why are you so different from the others?” He showed distrust and I feared he would find out the truth about me, but after everything I saw, after I saw these women’s condition, that didn’t matter. I wasn’t more important.
“I’m just trying to be fair. I always did this, it’s part of me.” And that was true. I was satisfied to see the admiration in his look.
“I’ll consider everything you said, but I can assure you this won’t be easy because you are here illegally.”
“You’re rich enough to make the difficult possible. Teachers can be here the same way your bodyguards and employees are.”
“Ok. I’ll arrange everything, but that’s not what I came here to tell you. First, we need to think about the child you carry. For her sake, you need to leave the house and that’s why I’m taking you to Seattle. I’ve already got you an apartment. It’s no big deal, but it’s big enough for you and the baby, and I’ll give you a job at my company.”
I should be jumping for joy. After all, he was giving me the opportunity to fulfill my dreams. I’d finally have my own apartment, I could buy and drive a car, I could wear the clothes I wanted and go out with my friends on weekends. I didn’t have the friends, but I would. However, all I could think about was the girls in that unsafe place, without anyone to speak for them.
“I thought you wanted it.”
“It is. I’m hopping inside, but if you take me away, the girls still will be in trouble.”
“I told you they won’t be required do anything they don’t want to,” he said sternly. “But the parties will go on and if they want to have sex with the guests, they will, but they won’t be forced.”
“What about the teachers?”
“I told you I’ll provide for it.”
I looked at him and I didn’t know how to thank him. I’d have felt honored if I didn’t know he was treating me differently because I made up the pregnancy, not because he cared. Jared didn’t do it for me, but for the baby he thought I carried.
“Can I come and see the girls?”
“Yes, but only when there are no men here other than Jeffrey and me.”
I remembered last night, when he saved me from being raped and gave me the best moment of my life as he touched me and kissed me. He awoke sensations in me I had never known. I had never experienced anything so magnificent and I wouldn’t have regretted if we had gone all the way.
I wanted Jared to be the first and I wanted it too much, because every part of me desired him beyond reason. However, he had made up his mind that I needed to be with his brother, and that wouldn’t happen. At least, leaving in Seattle, I might meet someone who made me feel the same as he did, who could take him off my mind.
“Thanks. I’ll pack up, then. Will you wait?”
“Just don’t take too long. Did you have lunch or spend the whole day trying to burn down the house?”
“I didn’t eat, but I don’t feel hungry.”
“It’s not only about you, but the innocent life you carry. Come, I’ll tell them to make something for you.”
We went to the kitchen, where he gave the orders to the housekeepers, who looked afraid of me. They made me a sandwich and an orange juice.
After the invigorating meal, I went to the second floor, took a quick bath to get rid of that unbearable smell of smoke and filled a bag with the clothes I liked most. Because there were so many I couldn’t take half of what was in the closet. I dragged the bag down the hallway, opening each door to try to find the girls and say goodbye, but they were all asleep. Only Samira raised her head when she heard the door opening.
“I only came to say goodbye. I’m moving to Seattle,” I said. Since I knew she didn’t like me, I just hurried away, not waiting for an answer.
“Wait, Inaya,” she said, getting up. She came to me walking with difficult, due to the pain in her body. She had been tortured most by those damn addicts. “I just want to thank you for what you did.”
I was surprised by her warm embrace, and I responded in kind, surprisingly feeling the emotion rise in me.
“I spoke to the Master, and he said this will never happen again. You can feel relieved.
“I think the master likes you,” she said, letting go of me.
“I wished he did, but he wants me to be with his brother.”
“I’m just saying, I saw the way he looks at you. The same way someone once looked at me.”
I wanted to ask who, to know more about her story, but Jared didn’t want me to be long. I said goodbye and went downstairs, taking her words with me.
I couldn’t have felt happier than when I sat in the passenger’s seat of Jared’s luxurious car as we headed to town. This was the second most important step to my happiness, and to my dreams of being free and having a different life from the women in my country. By living and working in Seattle, I could earn enough money to afford my independence, get a permanent visa and leave when Jared and his brother found I wasn’t pregnant. Even if I wore a fake belly, they would know sometime and I’d need to get as far away as I could.
I tried to make conversation with Jared, but he was quiet and didn’t say much all the way to Seattle. When we went inside the city proper, I was fascinated. I couldn’t stop analyzing everything around me, and I could barely believe I’d really live there. Everything fascinated me, from the majesty of the buildings to the casual manner in which people dressed. Soon I’d be one of those people, part of the crowd of a big metropolis. I wouldn’t need a veil to go on the streets and would dress like I wanted to. Isn’t it just perfect?
It was already dawn, when Jared parked in front of a building. It wasn’t as large as others, but it seemed just as beautiful.
“We’re here,” he said before retrieving a set of keys from the glove box and giving them to me.
“Yours is apartment 306. My secretary will pick you up tomorrow for your first day of work. Be ready at seven.”
“Aren’t you going up with me?”
“No. I’ll leave now.”
“But how am I supposed to use the elevator?”
“You’ve never used an elevator before?” He was confused.
“No.” I lied. There was an elevator in the university where I worked in Casablanca. I just wanted him close to me for a little longer. I didn’t know why, but being around him made me feel good.
“Ok, let’s go.”
We jumped out and went inside the building. Jared brought my bag, while I examined every fascinating detail. I wanted to pinch myself just to be sure I wasn’t dreaming, that I’d really live in my apartment.
We crossed the cozy lobby and took the elevator to the third floor. The apartment wasn’t very big. There were two rooms, – bedroom, and a combination living room - kitchen divided by the portal to the balcony, but it was wonderful, because it was mine alone.
I went inside and looked around. The apartment as furnished, with electronics on a shelf in the living room, a big couch, stove, kitchen table and chairs, a wardrobe, bed, a small desk and a new computer in the bedroom.
“My god! This is more than I dreamed of!” I was excited, and Jared smiled for the first time that day, giving me a momentary flash of his hidden passion.
Holy fuck! How could he look so handsome? How could he attract me so much? I never dreamed of getting married in Morocco, as I never thought of losing my mind with a man without being his wife. However, if it wasn’t for the fixation Jared had about Jeffrey and me, my virginity would have been his yesterday, and I wouldn’t have regretted it at all. this man was delicious, he needed to be tasted.
“There’s something in the wardrobe I want you to see,” he said.
“What is it?”
“Go check it out.”
I ran to my room and opened the small wardrobe. There was every kind of clothes, especially beautiful dresses I believed I would wear at work. What most caught my attention was the number of jeans in a big pile, in all colors and styles. It was a beautiful surprise for someone who dreamed about them and never had the opportunity to wear them. Jared had remembered when I told him this was one of my dreams. He wasn’t just handsome and attractive, he was wonderful.
I took off my dress and the hijab as fast as possible and put on a pair of jeans. They were light colored and very tight. I threw a blouse on and went running back to the living room.
“How do I look?” I asked with a big smile.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, examining me head to toe with a shine in his eyes.
I didn’t think about it, I just ran to him and put my arms around his neck, grabbing him. I couldn’t do this to any other man.
“I can’t believe you remembered. Thanks! I’ll wear jeans the whole day now.”
He didn’t embrace me. He was tense while I felt attracted by the heat of his body. A violent wave of desire ran through my veins, making my heartbeat faster. I felt something strange below my belly.
I knew I should back away because he didn’t want it. However, I couldn’t think straight, I just felt what was conquering me and making my body eager for intimacy.
Impulsively, I put my lips on his neck and kissed it, sucking it and letting my mouth wander to his masculine chin. His beard rubbed against my skin and gave me the chills. When I went back to see his face, I noticed his eyes were darker and closed, and it was impossible not to see he was fighting himself to keep from touching me.
I looked at his perfect mouth and wet my lips, drawing his attention to my mouth.
“Fuck, Inaya!” He whispered in a hoarse voice and grabbed my waist, pressing my body against his at the same time he kissed me deliciously, his tongue dancing with mine and making the desire inside me grow.
Jared pressed his body against mine, and I could feel his erection on my belly, making my body tremble, waking delicious sensations that made me want to go all the way.
My body was burning, every inch of my skin begged for his touch. I was wet and I lost my mind because I wanted to be possessed by that man. It was against my principles, my culture, and my religion, but it was as if none of this mattered.
I ran my fingers on his short hair by the back of his neck and pushed him closer to me, rubbing my tongue against his, marveling at all the sensations I felt. It was like trying an addictive drug that just makes you want more, and I pressed my body against his. My nipples hurt rubbing against his large chest and my legs were shaking. He ran his hands all over my body, grabbing me over my clothes.