The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 549

A rush of warmth flooded Nora's chest.

Given her personality, the moment she committed to Nathan, she was fully prepared to nurture and protect their relationship.

But perhaps the scars of her past failure still lingered.

She had always defaulted to a more passive role when it came to romance.

Back then, she had believed that quietly taking care of Aaron and doing whatever she could to support him was the definition of love.

As long as he was comfortable and they weren't fighting, she assumed they were moving steadily forward.

Reality had delivered a swift, brutal awakening.

Since reuniting with Nathan, almost every major step forward in their relationship had been initiated by him.

Nora desperately wanted to do something for him in return, but she constantly found herself unsure of how to go about it.

"Nathan, is there anything you've always wanted?"

Perhaps his bold declaration had emboldened her.

Suddenly, she felt an overwhelming need to know if a man like Nathan harbored any deeply held dreams he was dying to fulfill.

"Yes."

Nathan didn't hesitate for a second.

"What is it?"

Nora studied him intently.

He was always the one taking the lead; this time, she wanted to be the one to step up.

"Are you offering to make it happen?"

Nathan's counter-question was direct, and Nora answered just as swiftly, "If it's in my power."

Nathan chuckled softly. "Oh, you definitely have the power."

Nora looked at him in surprise. "So what is it?"

She had a vague inkling of where this was going, but she was too embarrassed to say it out loud.

And it was blatantly obvious it wasn't just one tire; the entire set was shredded.

The metallic tang Nora had smelled was raw gasoline. The fuel line had been severed!

The calculated nature of the sabotage made it terrifyingly clear to both of them: someone had rigged the car as a death trap.

But this wasn't the time to analyze suspects.

They were tearing down the center of a busy road. The second Nathan felt the tires give, he had slammed on the hazard lights.

Watching the rearview mirror, Nora saw the vehicles behind them instinctively braking to give them a wide berth. Spotting her window of opportunity, she shoved the passenger door open and hurled herself onto the asphalt.

The sight of a woman launching herself from a moving vehicle sent the surrounding drivers into a panic, slamming on their brakes, terrified to get anywhere near the chaotic scene.

Nathan watched Nora tuck and roll across the pavement several times before finally coming to a stop. Only when he saw her stagger to her feet did a fraction of the tension leave his shoulders.

The instant he noticed the malfunction, he had tried to scrub their speed. But whoever had targeted the tires and the fuel tank wouldn't have been stupid enough to leave the brake lines intact.

So when the brake pedal hit the floor with zero resistance, Nathan wasn't surprised. His mind slipped into absolute, icy clarity.

Having landed safely, Nora immediately deduced the exact same thing. But there was nothing she could do to help him from the outside. She planted herself in the middle of the road, violently waving down oncoming traffic while simultaneously dialing emergency services.