The CEO's Contract Bride

CHAPTER 15: HONEYMOON

82 days left on contract.

0 days left to wait.

Today we leave for forever.

---

The text came at 4 AM.

*Flight leaves in 3 hours. Pack light. - D*

I was already awake.

In bed, in Damian's t-shirt, ring still catching the moonlight.

82 days left on the contract.

But we tore it up.

This was real now.

"Can't sleep?" Damian's voice was rough with sleep. Arm around my waist.

"No." I turned to face him. "Nervous."

"About what?"

"About being alone with you. For 2 weeks. With no work. No board. No Victoria."

Damian smiled. Pulled me closer. "Sounds like heaven."

"Where are we even going?"

"It's a surprise."

---

Aira was waiting at the airport.

With 3 suitcases and a unicorn pillow.

"You didn't pack me!" she whined.

Damian ruffled her hair. "You have Rina. And Eleanor. And the whole penthouse."

"But I want to go too!"

I hugged her. "We'll bring you back strawberries. Promise."

She sighed dramatically. "Fine. But you better call me every day."

Damian knelt down. "Deal. And you behave for Rina, okay?"

Aira saluted. "Yes sir, brother-in-law."

---

The jet was private.

Of course it was.

Cream seats. Strawberries on the table. Blankets.

"Where to?" I asked as we took off.

Damian handed me an envelope. "Open it at 30,000 feet."

I waited.

At 30,000 feet, I opened it.

Inside: A photo. Of a beach. White sand. Blue water.

And a note: *Japan. Strawberry farms. Lily's favorite place.*

I started crying. "You remembered."

"I remember everything you say." He wiped my tear. "Ready?"

"Ready."

---

Flight was 6 hours.

We didn't sleep.

We talked.

About nothing. About everything.

About the first time he saw me. "You were yelling at a nurse. For Aira."

"I was scared."

"I know. That's why I noticed you."

About Lily. "She would have loved you. She would have stolen your strawberries."

About the future. "Kids?" I asked, heart pounding.

Damian went still. Then: "Yes. If you want them. Someday."

I nodded. Crying and smiling. "Someday."

He kissed my forehead. "Someday."

---

We landed in Kyoto at sunset.

The air smelled different. Clean. Like rain and flowers.

A driver was waiting. With a sign: *Mr. & Mrs. Voss*

I blushed. "Mrs. Voss. Still weird."

"You'll get used to it," Damian said. Hand in mine.

The drive was 2 hours. Into the mountains.

Our hotel wasn't a hotel.

It was a ryokan. Traditional. Wooden. With a private onsen.

And a strawberry farm behind it.

"Welcome," the owner said, bowing. "Mr. Voss booked the whole place."

"For privacy," Damian whispered to me. "Just us."

---

Room 1: Tatami floors. Futon. Low table.

Room 2: Private bath.

Room 3: A balcony overlooking the strawberry fields.

I ran to the balcony. "Damian, look!"

Rows and rows of strawberries. Under the moon.

Damian came up behind me. Wrapped arms around me. "Like it?"

"It's perfect."

He kissed my neck. "Good. Because we have 14 days here."

---

Dinner was served in our room.

12 courses. All tiny. All beautiful.

And for dessert: Fresh strawberries. With cream.

Damian fed me one. "To the bride."

"To the groom," I said, feeding him back.

We were giggling like kids.

After dinner, Damian drew me a bath in the onsen.

Outside. Under the stars.

"Come in," he said.

I hesitated. "Together?"

"Yes." He held out his hand. "Together."

So I did.

The water was hot. The air was cold.

And Damian was warm.

We didn't talk much.

Just sat. His arm around me. Watching the stars.

"This is nice," I whispered.

"The nicest," he agreed.

---

Night 1.

We slept on the futon.

Together.

No contract. No rules.

Just a husband and wife.

At 3 AM, I woke up. Damian was watching me.

"What?" I whispered.

"Nothing. Just... you're here. And you're mine."

I kissed him. "I'm yours."

---

Day 2: Strawberry Picking.

We woke up early.

Given baskets and hats.

"Pick only the red ones," the farmer said.

Damian was terrible at it. Picked 3. Ate 10.

I was good. Filled half a basket.

"Show off," he muttered.

"Jealous?" I teased.

"Of strawberries? No. Of you? Always."

We sat in the field after. Eating strawberries.

"Do you think Lily came here?" I asked.

"Yes." Damian lay back in the grass. "She wrote about it in her journal. Said the strawberries in Kyoto tasted like sunshine."

I lay down next to him. "Then let's taste sunshine."

We did.

---

Day 3: Temples.

We walked. A lot.

No bodyguards. No press.

Just us. Holding hands.

At Fushimi Inari, we went through 1000 red gates.

"Make a wish," Damian said.

"What did you wish for?"

"You," he said simply. "That you'd say yes."

I cried again. "It worked."

At Kiyomizu, we wrote wishes on wooden plaques.

Mine: *For Aira's health. For Damian's happiness. For us.*

Damian's: *For Maya. Always.*

We hung them up together.

---

Day 4: Rain.

It poured.

So we stayed in.

Cooked together. Badly.

Damian burned the rice. I over-salted the soup.

We ordered takeout instead. And ate on the floor.

Watched old movies. Bad ones.

Fell asleep on the sofa.

Woke up tangled together.

"Best rainy day ever," Damian said.

---

Day 5: The Letter.

We found it in the ryokan's library.

A letter. From Lily.

To Damian.

*Dear Brother,*

*If you're reading this, it means you brought someone here. Someone special.*

*I hope she's kind. I hope she makes you laugh. I hope she eats strawberries with you.*

*Don't be alone anymore, Damian. You deserve love. Real love.*

*Love, Lily*

Damian cried.

I held him while he did.

"She would have liked you," he whispered. "A lot."

"I'm glad," I whispered back.

That night, we made love for the first time.

Slow. Gentle. Like a promise.

After, he traced the ring on my finger. "Forever?"

"Forever," I said.

---

Day 6-7: Just Us.

No plans.

We slept late.

Walked in the fields.

Took baths together.

Cooked. Failed. Laughed.

Damian taught me how to make tea the proper way.

I taught him how to be bad at karaoke.

We were so happy it hurt.

On Day 7 night, Damian said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Do you miss it? The old life? Before me?"

I thought about it. The debt. The fear. The loneliness.

"No," I said. "I miss Aira being sick. But not the rest."

"Good." He pulled me onto his lap. "Because I don't miss my old life either."

---

Day 8: Aira calls.

Video call.

She was wearing a crown. "I'M QUEEN OF THE PENTHOUSE!"

Rina in the background: "She made me call her that."

We laughed.

"How's Japan?" Aira asked.

"Strawberries," I said. "So many strawberries."

Damian waved. "You good, kid?"

"Yeah. Miss you though."

"We miss you too." Damian looked at me. "Both of us."

After the call, Damian was quiet.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. Just... thinking. About family."

"Me too."

He took my hand. "I want more of this. More family."

"Me too."

---

Day 9: The Proposal, Again.

Damian blindfolded me.

Led me somewhere.

When he took it off, we were in the strawberry field.

At night.

Fairy lights everywhere.

A table. For two.

And a violinist.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Dinner." He pulled out my chair. "And a second proposal."

My heart stopped.

He knelt. Again.

"Maya Voss. I asked you to marry me once. With a ring."

He took my hand.

"Now I'm asking you to live with me. To build a life with me. To have kids with me. To grow old with me."

Tears were streaming down my face. "Yes."

"Yes to which part?"

"All of it. Yes to all of it."

He stood up. Kissed me.

The violinist played.

We ate dinner under the stars.

---

Day 10: Beach Day.

2 hours drive.

Private beach.

White sand. Blue water.

We swam.

Damian taught me how to surf. I fell. A lot.

He laughed every time.

At sunset, we sat on the sand.

"82 days left," I said.

"On what?"

"The contract."

Damian turned to me. "That contract is dead, Maya."

"I know. But the date. 90 days. It's coming up."

"So?"

"So... what happens then? Officially?"

Damian took my face in his hands. "Officially? Nothing. Because we're married. For real. There's no end date."

I exhaled. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay."

We kissed.

The sun went down.

---

Day 11-12: Sick Day.

I got a fever.

From swimming. From crying. From happiness.

Damian panicked.

Nursed me. Brought me tea. Read to me.

"You don't have to--" I said, delirious.

"Shut up," he said fondly. "Let me take care of you."

I slept for 2 days. Woke up to him asleep in a chair next to me. Holding my hand.

"Hey," I whispered.

His eyes opened immediately. "You're awake. How do you feel?"

"Better. Because you're here."

He kissed my hand. "Don't scare me like that again."

---

Day 13: The Last Day.

We packed. Slowly.

Didn't want to leave.

Went to the field one last time.

Picked strawberries.

Sat in the grass.

"Will you remember this?" I asked.

"Every second," Damian said.

"Me too."

We watched the sunset.

---

Night 14: The Flight Home.

We were quiet.

Holding hands.

"Thank you," I said. "For this."

"Thank you," he said. "For saying yes. To all of it."

We landed at 2 AM.

The penthouse was dark. Quiet.

Aira was asleep on the sofa, Rina's jacket over her.

Damian carried me to our room.

Set me down gently.

"Welcome home, wife," he whispered.

"Welcome home, husband," I whispered back.

We fell asleep holding hands.

---

Morning.

Aira burst into our room at 7 AM.

"YOU'RE BACK! DID YOU BRING ME STRAWBERRIES?"

Damian groaned into a pillow. "Yes. 3 boxes. In the kitchen."

Aira screamed and ran.

I laughed. "We have a 10 year old."

"We do," Damian said. And pulled me closer. "Best 10 year old ever."

Breakfast was chaos.

Strawberries everywhere.

Aira made us tell her everything.

"The onsen! The temples! Did you kiss?"

"AIRA!" I turned red.

Damian just smiled. "Yes. A lot."

Aira squealed. "TMI! But also, yay!"

---

Day 1 back: Normal.

Or as normal as it could be.

Damian went to Voss Group.

I stayed home with Aira.

Doctor's appointment in the afternoon.

Results: Clear.

Aira was officially in remission.

We cried in the car.

Called Damian immediately.

His voice broke on the phone. "That's... that's amazing. I'm so proud of her. Of you."

---

Day 2 back: The Board.

Damian had a meeting.

Came home late. Tired.

"How was it?" I asked.

"Good." He kicked off his shoes. "They approved the new children's ward. In Aira's name."

I stopped. "What?"

"The Aira Voss Children's Wing." He looked at me. "I wanted to do something. For her. For you."

I hugged him so tight. "Thank you."

"Thank you," he said. "For giving me a reason to."

---

Day 3 back: The Name.

Eleanor came over. With lawyers.

"We need to discuss the name," she said.

"What name?" I asked.

"Voss." She sipped tea. "You're Mrs. Voss now. Legally. But we need to announce it. Properly."

Damian sat next to me. "We can do a press release. Or a small event."

I shook my head. "No press. Please."

"Then what?" Eleanor asked.

I looked at Damian. "Can we just... be? Without announcing?"

Damian smiled. "Yes. We can just be."

Eleanor sighed. "Fine. But I'm telling my book club."

---

Day 4 back: The Photos.

Aira found our honeymoon photos.

Made a slideshow.

Set it to music.

Forced us to watch.

There was one of us in the strawberry field. At night. Kissing.

Aira paused it. "This one. This is my favorite."

Damian put his arm around me. "Mine too."

---

Day 5 back: The Scare.

Aira had a fever.

102.

We rushed to the hospital at midnight.

Damian didn't leave my side. Didn't leave Aira's.

Held my hand the whole time.

At 4 AM, the doctor said: "Just a virus. She'll be fine in 2 days."

We both collapsed in relief.

Damian carried Aira home.

I walked beside him.

At home, he tucked her in. Then came to me.

"I'm scared," I whispered.

"I know." He held me. "Me too. Every day."

"But she's okay."

"She is." He kissed my forehead. "And we are too."

---

Day 6 back: The Gift.

Damian came home with a box.

Inside: A key.

"What's this?" I asked.

"To a house." He smiled. "Not a penthouse. A house. With a yard. For Aira. For us."

My heart stopped. "Damian..."

"It's in the suburbs. 20 minutes from the hospital. Has a strawberry garden already." He was nervous. "Do you... do you want it?"

I started crying. "Yes. Yes I do."

He hugged me. "Good. Because I already put an offer in."

---

Day 7 back: House Hunting.

We went together.

With Aira.

The house was perfect.

White. Two stories. Big kitchen.

And behind it: A strawberry patch.

Aira ran straight to it. "MINE!"

Damian looked at me. "What do you think?"

"I think..." I took his hand. "I think this is home."

We put the deposit down that day.

---

Day 8 back: The Anniversary.

Not our wedding anniversary.

Our "contract" anniversary.

90 days ago, I signed the paper.

Damian remembered.

He made dinner.

Set the table.

Lit candles.

"To 90 days," he said, raising his glass. "The worst start. The best ending."

I clinked my glass to his. "To us."

After dinner, he gave me a gift.

A box.

Inside: The torn contract.

Framed.

With a note underneath:

*This brought us together.

This is what we chose to leave behind.

This is what made us.*

I cried. "Why would you keep this?"

"To remember," he said. "Where we started."

---

Day 9 back: The Proposal, Again.

Damian was acting weird all day.

At night, he took me to the roof.

Fairy lights. Blanket. Strawberries.

"What's going on?" I asked.

He knelt. Again.

My heart dropped. "Damian..."

"Maya Voss," he said. "90 days ago you signed a contract to be my wife."

"I did."

"Today, I'm asking you to sign something else."

He pulled out a paper.

Not a contract.

A deed.

To the new house.

Both our names on it.

"Will you build a life with me? Here? In this house?"

Tears fell. "Yes."

"Yes to the house?"

"Yes to you. Yes to everything."

He kissed me.

---

Day 10 back: The Announcement.

We didn't do press.

We did family.

Dinner.

Just us. Aira, Rina, Eleanor.

Damian stood up. "We bought a house."

Aira screamed. "WE HAVE A YARD??"

"Yes," I laughed. "And strawberries."

Eleanor cried. "I'm so happy for you both."

Rina raised her glass. "To the Voss family."

---

Day 11 back: Moving.

We started packing.

Slowly.

Damian insisted on packing my books.

Aira insisted on packing the strawberries.

I insisted on packing us.

It took a week.

---

Day 12 back: The Last Night in the Penthouse.

We slept on the floor.

In sleeping bags.

Like a campout.

"Remember the first night here?" Damian asked.

"Yes. I was terrified."

"I was too."

"Of what?"

"Of you leaving."

I turned to him. "I'm not leaving."

"I know." He pulled me close. "Not anymore."

---

Day 13 back: Moving Day.

Movers came at 8 AM.

By 6 PM, we were in the new house.

Aira claimed the biggest room.

"With the strawberry wallpaper!"

Damian and I took the master.

Big bed. Big window. View of the garden.

At night, we sat on the floor. No furniture yet.

Just us. And pizza.

"Home?" Damian asked.

"Home," I said.

---

Day 14 back: The Morning.

We woke up in the new house.

Sunlight through the windows.

Aira banging on the door. "BREAKFAST! I MADE PANCAKES!"

They were terrible.

We ate them anyway.

After, Damian took my hand.

Led me to the backyard.

To the strawberry patch.

He knelt down. Picked one.

Handed it to me.

"82 days left," he said.

"On what?"

"On me getting used to this. To us. To home."

I ate the strawberry. "Take your time."

He kissed me.

Sweet. Like strawberries.

And sunshine.

---

EPILOGUE: DAY 90

The date came and went.

No one noticed.

No contract.

No countdown.

Just a family.

Having breakfast.

In their home.

With strawberries.