I took Jared’s advice and stopped thinking about his illness, the surgery, and everything else that upset him. I focused only on the magnificent moments we shared. Our last night in Caribe was filled with love, without worries. We slept nestled against each other.

The next morning, we went back to Seattle on his private jet, which was very luxurious. The cabin resembled a small apartment with comfortable furnishings. We arrived in the US around noon and took the limo to Jared’s apartment, where I started living soon after our marriage.

On the day I moved in, I recalled the first time I had been there… the day I tried to escape from the parking lot. I thought about how magnificent the apartment was and how I’d love to live in such a place. To move in was another dream come true, thanks to the man I loved.

Even before we had left the plane, Jared had had his cellphone to his ear, dealing with business. It was boring, because I wanted all his attention on me, but, of course, he needed to work, and he needed a lot! He owned one of the biggest export companies in the country.

As she had been previously informed to expect our arrival, the nice forty or so year old woman who cleaned our apartment and insisted on being called by her first name, Lorry, who had already prepared our lunch: chicken with orange sauce and a variety of salads.

“Are we going to work today?” I asked while we ate, between phone calls Jared answered.

“We won’t. I will. You are married to a rich man, you don’t need to work.”

I couldn’t believe I was hearing to that. It was chauvinistic to believe that, because I was married to a rich man who could give me everything, I couldn’t work.

“I want to work. I don’t like staying home and doing nothing.” I answered, while eating a piece of chicken.

“Why? You just have to ask me and I’ll give you whatever you want.”

“I need freedom to come and go. I won’t be like the women from my country who only perform the duties of caring for the house and her husband. I want to be useful.”

“You’ll be useful waiting for me and helping me relax after a hard day at work.”

I forced a laugh. “This will only happen in your thoughts. I’ll work… case closed. If you fire me I’ll get another job.”

He ignored the insistent cellphone ringing and looked at me silently for a long time.

“Are you sure you were born in an Islamic country? Because even women who don’t work in harems are more submissive there.

“That’s why I escaped.” I shrugged and he smiled, beautifully. Fuck! How I loved that smile.

“Ok, stubborn lady. You won’t go back to Jeffrey’s office, though. You’ll help Alice with her duties and serve coffee.”

“I’ll gladly help Alice, but I also need a few hours a day to learn how to drive, so I’ll need to register at a driving school immediately.”

“Ok, I’ll arrange that. Anything else?”

“Yes, I want you to take me to the country house. I miss my friends.”

“Can we do it tomorrow, or can’t your majesty wait?”

“Tomorrow is fine.”

“Great.”

He went back to his phone and I went back to my thoughts, imagining how I could talk about his surgery again without crying, without being ripped apart again. It was too painful, but we needed to talk about it, and I knew Jared wouldn’t take the first step and book the surgery if I didn’t motivate him. Now that he and Jeffrey were estranged, it was up to me as his wife and confidant. Oh my! How I wished things were different.

We had barely finished our lunch and it was time to head to work Jared was ready in five minutes flat and complained for half an hour because I took longer to change.

When we got to Harrington Company, still holding hands in the hall, we became center of attention. People didn’t hide their curiosity in watching us. At least, they didn’t seem hostile, just admiring, maybe because they already knew we married. They knew that a Moroccan girl, who was neither as sophisticated nor glamorous at all, got the most eligible man in the company.

Alice met us with a sincere smile, but was a little uncomfortable to learn that I was her assistant now.

“Technically, you’re my boss. How can I give you orders?” She asked me once she had been informed.

“Forget the ‘technically’ and ‘boss’,” was my answer.

Before the afternoon was over, a desk and a computer were installed for me in Jared’s reception room close to Alice’s desk. I enjoyed being useful. At I could occupy my mind with work and still be an administrative auxiliary. It wasn’t san advanced position, but, considering I had no college, it was what I liked to do. That was great!

We were finishing our turns when Erica crossed the waiting room, heading for Jared’s room without waiting to be announced. She looked at me furiously, and as if she wanted to burn me alive. I already thought she had a crush on Jared, and after he told me they had been lovers during adolescence, I had no doubts she still loved him.

“Should I worry?” I asked Alice after Erica entered my husband’s room, “because secretaries always know everything.”

“With this one? Not a bit. Jared doesn’t stay with the same girl for very long, if you know what I mean. You’re a huge exception.”

I felt like asking if she had been his lover as well, but I didn’t want to hear what was obvious and to create a rift between us.

Erica spent over an hour in Jared’s room. She barely left by the end of the day, a little before he did.

In the company’s parking lot, when we got in the car and headed back to our apartment, I hesitated several times before asking about that delicate subject.

“Did you tell Erica you decided to have the surgery?” I asked, cautiously.

“Not yet.”

So, what were you talking about over an hour while locked in your room? I thought about asking the question, but I refrained from it.

“She wants us to have lunch tomorrow at her apartment, to try to arrange a reconciliation between Jeffrey and me, and to introduce you officially as my wife,” he said as we left the garage and merged with the afternoon traffic. It was like he could read my thoughts. “But I think it’s too soon. Jeffrey needs more time to calm down. This reconciliation should be slower. So, I told her IWars taking my wife to see her friends.”

I felt happy because he remembered my request. “You can leave me there in the morning and pick me up in the afternoon, so you can go to work without losing much time.”

“And leave you there when there are men looking for sex? I’m not that crazy.” I smiled wider at what he said. “But don’t worry, I’m confident in my decision and I’ll tell Erica and Jeffrey at the right time. Even if the surgeon is Jeffrey’s friend.”

“The one who gave you the diagnosis?”

“Yes. When I had a heart attack, Jeffrey introduced us. He’s a well-known cardiac surgeon.”

I processed the information and thought it was weird that a man as important as Jared didn’t have his own doctor or health insurance. Or that he didn’t go for routine exams, and needed to be introduced to a doctor by his brother.

“Haven’t you got your own doctor? I mean, you haven’t seen another doctor?”

“No. I never cared about those things. I don’t like the smell of medicine, and sick people. I’m glad Jeffrey has a friend who is a doctor.”

I couldn’t understand what didn’t fit in the story. Maybe I was confused, or maybe my intuition was telling me something was very wrong, but what could it be? I didn’t have the time to continue thinking about it, because I suddenly realized the car had gained a lot of speed on the streets wet by drizzle. Jared couldn’t slow it down.

“Something wrong?” I asked, apprehensively.

“I don’t want to freak you out, but the brakes aren’t working.” He was very calm.

“Use the emergency brake.” He didn’t want to scare me, but he did, because we were traveling way too fast on a crowded street.”

“I’ve tried. It isn’t working either.”

“What do we do now?”

“Do you still remember your prayers?”

How could he joke in such a moment? “Jared, stop joking... I’m scared!”

We shot past two cars in front of us so close that we almost hit them and I froze. I fear consumed me, my heartbeat was racing as adrenaline hit my system.

“Don’t be. I’ll take care of it.”

When he closed his mouth, we reached a red light at a crossroad and I just closed my eyes, fearing the worst. Luckily, we managed to cross it, making some cars spin out on the road as the drivers jerked their steering wheels to avoid us.

Jared detoured on the way, taking a less crowded street and continued to dodge other cars while dangerously gaining more speed,

“For the love of Allah!” What are we going to do?” I almost screamed, freaked out.

“I don’t know. This has never happened before. The brakes simply don’t work. We can’t jump either, because we’re going too fast and there are too many cars on the street. We would be hit in seconds. I’ll have to try to get to the freeway and drive until we run out of gas.

Fuck! That was his plan? We’re completely screwed.

We were going over 50mph when we sped by a police car and it started following us with lights and sirens on, commanding us to stop.

“Do they shoot when they ask someone to stop and the person doesn’t obey?” I asked, panicking.

“Not that I know. Use your cellphone, call the police and tell them what’s happening.”

I realized how much my hands were shaking when I took my cellphone out of my bag and called 9-1-1. The seconds until they answered seemed like an eternity.

Emergency, how can I help you? I heard the feminine voice on the other end of the line.

“We don’t have brakes. The car doesn’t have brakes! We’re traveling too fast and the police are after us.” I was so nervous I could barely speak English, and some words came out in Arabic.

I can’t understand you, Miss. Can you repeat?

“Our car doesn’t have any brakes. We can’t stop!”

What’s your location?

“I don’t have any idea.” I looked at Jared. He was sweating as he tried to control the car and avoid hitting anything or run over anyone. We shot through another red light. If we found hit heavy traffic, there’d be no way to avoid crashing. “Where are we, Jared?”

“We just entered Aurora Avenue N heading North, near Westlake.”

I repeated the coordinates and she asked me to wait a second, which went to minutes that seemed like hours.

I’m glad the street we were on now was wider and there wasn’t much traffic. Maybe we would survive.

“I’ll transfer you to highway patrol. The woman said, without waiting for an answer. The next minute, a male voice came in, a little harsher. Hello, I’m Wesley Young, chief of the Seattle division of the Highway patrol. Who I’m talking to and what’s the problem?

I took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm down so I could explain everything clearly and they could help us.

“I’m Inaya Harrington, and I’m in the car with my husband, Jared Harrington. We left work Downtown minutes ago, and after a few blocks, our brakes didn’t work. The car won’t stop and the emergency brake doesn’t work either. We’re crossing the city. We are at Aurora Avenue N, heading north, in Westlake.

“Got it. I’ve already notified police cars to help you. They are going ahead of you. How is the gas tank?

“He wants to know how is the gas tank.”

“Tell him it’s full.”

Fuck!

“It’s full.”

“That isn’t good. Tell your husband to calm down and continue on Aurora. We’ll see if we can empty the streets for you to get to the freeway. Keep your cellphone in your hands”. He signed off.

I gave Jared the instructions and, although he looked calm, he was sweating a lot and kept his focus on the street in front of us.

There was a tense silence between us. We were worried about what might happen. There were so many possibilities; it was better not to think about them. Panic would force us to lose the calm we needed in that moment. To freak out would be worst.

Luckily, Jared was a great driver. He could drive in the most difficult situations without hitting anyone. He went through several red lights, outpacing other vehicles, and we were still alive. Maybe luck was on our side.

“You don’t need to be scared Inaya. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” He broke the long moment of silence and made me calmer with his certainty. “Do you trust me?”

“I do.”

He hesitated before continuing.

“There’s a bridge a few miles ahead. We can ditch the car and jump. What do you think?”

Panic inside me multiplied a thousand times. That was the worst plan anyone could make, and if he was so desperate to think about running the car off a bridge, our situation was worse than I thought. Holy fuck! We were going to die!

“No way. Don’t do that! You’ll kill us.”

“I won’t. Don’t you watch action movies? The car won’t submerge right away. If we can jump just before it reaches the water, we can get out before the car goes down.”

“I’d rather die! Keep driving and we’ll talk to the police office. He will help us.”

Jared looked at me in a strange way, but he said nothing. If he drove us off the bridge and that didn’t kill us, I’d kill him with my bare hands.

Two police cars came from other streets and got in front of us with their sirens on, warning other vehicles that there was a runaway car behind them. The first car was still following us. The driver obviously already knew what happened.

Minutes later, I felt the cellphone vibrating in my hand, and when I answered it, I heard the chief. “Tell your husband we emptied 104, the entrance to the Pacific Highway. He can take that to the freeway, and then we’ll see what we can do. The priority now is to leave the city.

I gave Jared the message and saw a vein in his head bulge.

“104 is too far from here. What is that guy thinking?” he raged.

“Have you got a better idea?” He didn’t answer, just gave me the same look as before. “If you drive me off that bridge, I’ll kill you afterwards!” I menaced and, as incredible as it may sound, he smiled