CHAPTER 11: THE $5 MILLION QUESTION
1138 Words
86 days left.
The money was supposed to save us.
Now it’s the only thing between us.
---
It started with a bank notification.
*Deposit: $5,000,000.00. From: VOSS HOLDINGS TRUST*
I stared at my phone at 7 AM.
The money was here.
All of it.
I didn't tell Damian.
---
At breakfast, he was different.
Lighter. He kept looking at me. Like he was remembering the kiss on the roof.
"Morning," he said. Kissed my forehead. Casual. Like we’d been doing it forever.
"Morning." My voice cracked.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." I pushed eggs around my plate. "Just... tired."
Damian frowned. "Did you sleep okay?"
"Yeah."
Lie.
The whole day at Voss Group was torture.
Every time he touched my hand. Every time he said "wife".
I kept thinking: $5,000,000.
Blood money. Contract money.
At 3 PM, Rina knocked. "Mrs. Voss, your bank called. They wanted to confirm a large deposit."
My blood went cold. "What did you say?"
"I said to transfer you. But you were in a meeting."
Damian looked up from his laptop. "Large deposit?"
"Um. My sister's insurance," I lied. Fast. "It finally came through."
Damian nodded slowly. "Good. That's good, Maya."
But his eyes stayed on me too long.
---
That night, we had dinner at home.
No staff. Just us. Again.
Halfway through, Damian set his fork down. "We need to talk."
"About?"
"The contract." He ran a hand through his hair. "About after."
My stomach dropped. "What about after?"
"The $5 million." He said it like it hurt. "It's in your account now, right? Clause 5.1."
I couldn't breathe. "How did you--"
"Legal confirmed the transfer this morning." He looked at me. "Maya. I need to know."
"Know what?"
"If you still want to stay. After you get the money."
The room went silent.
"Is that what you think?" I whispered. "That I’m going to take it and run?"
"I don't know what to think." He stood up. Paced. "Because that's what the contract says. You get paid. You leave."
"And you think I will?"
"I don't want you to."
There it was.
"Damian," I said. "I haven't even touched the money."
"I know." He stopped. "But it's there. And I need to know if this... us... is real. Or if it was just part of the deal."
I stood up too. "You think after everything. The leak. Your mom. The kiss. That I’m still pretending?"
"I don't know!" He snapped. Then softer: "I'm sorry. I don't know."
We stared at each other.
---
I went to the bedroom. He went to his study.
At 2 AM, I couldn't take it anymore.
I knocked on his study door.
"Come in."
He was sitting on the floor. Contract in front of him. Torn in half.
"I did it," he said without looking up. "I tore it."
I sat down across from him. "Why?"
"Because I don't want you to stay for money." He looked up. Eyes red. "I want you to stay because you want to."
Tears hit my cheeks. "I do. I want to."
"Then prove it." He pushed a paper toward me. "Sign this."
It was a new paper. One sentence.
*I choose to stay. No contract. No money. Just us.*
My hands shook. "Damian, the $5 million--"
"Donate it. Give it to Aira's hospital. Burn it. I don't care." He took my hand. "Just stay. With me. For real."
I looked at the paper. At him.
And I signed.
Maya Voss.
The second I put the pen down, he pulled me into a hug.
Tight. Like he was scared I'd disappear.
"Thank you," he whispered into my hair. "Thank you for choosing me."
---
Friday.
We went to the bank together.
I transferred $4,000,000 to Aira's hospital. For the children's ward.
The remaining $1,000,000 I put in a trust. For Aira. For after.
When we left, Damian asked, "Feel better?"
"Yes." I laughed. "Lighter."
"Good." He opened the car door for me. "Because we have a problem."
"What?"
"Victoria." He sighed. "She's suing. Says the contract is void because we tore it up early."
---
The lawsuit hit the news by evening.
*VOSS CEO BREACHES OWN CONTRACT. WIFE KEEPS $5M.*
Comments were brutal.
"Gold digger."
"She scammed him."
"She only stayed for the money."
I cried in the shower.
Damian found me there. Wrapped me in a towel.
"Hey. Look at me." He wiped my tears. "None of it is true."
"But people think--"
"Let them think." He kissed my forehead. "We know the truth."
"What's the truth?"
"That you gave the money away." He smiled. "That you chose me."
---
Saturday.
Court date.
We walked in together. No lawyers. Just us.
Victoria was there. Smug.
The judge looked at both of us. "Is this true? That you mutually agreed to terminate the contract?"
Damian stood. "Yes, Your Honor. We tore it up. Together. Because we no longer needed it."
"And the money?"
"Donated," I said. "Every cent."
The judge nodded. "Case dismissed. There is no breach if both parties agree."
Victoria looked like she swallowed glass.
Outside, reporters swarmed.
"Are you still married?"
"Is it real now?"
Damian put his arm around me. "Yes. We're still married. And yes. It's real."
---
Back at the penthouse, we collapsed.
"We won," I said.
"Barely." Damian pulled me onto his lap on the sofa. "You okay?"
"No money," I said. "No contract."
"No contract," he agreed. "Just us."
"Is that scary?"
"Terrifying." He kissed me. "Best kind of scary."
We stayed like that for hours.
Talking. About nothing. About everything.
About Aira. About Lily. About the future.
"Can I ask you something?" I said.
"Anything."
"What happens at 90 days now?"
Damian thought about it. "Same thing that happens at 89. And 88."
"What’s that?"
"We wake up. Together."
He kissed me again.
---
Sunday.
No press. No court. No Victoria.
Just us. At the strawberry patch.
Lily's house.
We were weeding again.
"Do you think she’d be mad?" I asked. "That we tore up the contract?"
Damian picked a strawberry. Handed it to me. "No. She'd be glad. She wanted me to be happy."
I ate it. "Are you?"
"Yes." He looked at me. Dirt on his face. Sun in his hair. "For the first time in years."
We lay in the grass. Staring at the sky.
"86 days left," I whispered.
"Of what?" Damian turned to me.
"Of pretending this is temporary."
He took my hand. Laced our fingers.
"Then let's stop pretending."
---
That night, we didn't sleep in separate beds.
We slept in one.
His arms around me. My head on his chest.
No contract. No money. No rules.
Just us.
86 days left.
But for the first time, the number didn't matter.
Because we weren't counting down to the end.
We were counting up to forever.
- Writer
