When Mrs. Infamous Chose The Masochist...(BOOK 5)

Chapter 1

August 25th, 1972
Remington's POV

Today is the day.

For almost four years, I planned and dreamed about this moment and how I would make it the most perfect proposal to ever happen in the history of marriage proposals. I imagined that I would sweep Carina off her feet and make her feel like she was in a fairy tale with the way I would declare my undying love for her and ask her to be my wife. No one ever told me how nerve-wracking it would be once I was finally ready to ask Carina to marry me. I knew waiting until she was done with college would be the smart and selfless decision since I knew from the moment we met that Carina was a woman who enjoyed her independence and didn't want to be tied down so quickly, even when I knew she loved me beyond words. While I did hope I could keep her beside me for the rest of my life, I still wanted to be there for her as she would continue working hard and make something of herself that even I would be immensely proud of.

Asking her father for his blessing when we were in Vegas about two months ago may have been the scariest moment of my life as I was sure he might not approve of me being worthy as his daughter's husband. And even when he said yes without hesitation, I knew actually proposing to Carina herself would be much scarier, especially since I decided to go bold and do it with an audience. Our audience, to be exact, as I told my brothers and bandmates about the plan I made to ask Carina to marry me before our audience at the very last show during the final summer festival of a set of festivals we had been doing since June. They were ecstatic for me and commended my decision to show the world how I loved Carina and our fans enough to share such a special moment with them. I pondered a while before whether it might've been a good decision due to the nagging worry in my mind that while Carina has told me multiple times how much I mean to her, she might find a reason to reject me.

I told myself that she wouldn't and even if she did, it's not the end of the world. She means too much to me to force her to do something she might not want to do. In the end, I just need her to know that any sensible man would be honored to have such a beautiful and strong woman such as herself as his wife. These past few months since Carina graduated college and joined us with the rest of our friends on our summer festival run have been some of the greatest months of my life. It's been so great to have everyone we've been close to see us at our highest yet. And every fan who came out to see our band perform were so good to us and meant more to us more than they would've believed. When we weren't rehearsing or performing for our shows, we'd spend our free time hanging out with our friends, or I'd invest every second in indulging in ma cherie's lovely company. She's just so good to me like always and just sends me to the moon with her smile and kisses. Those moments made me more anxious to finally propose to her.

I got ready super excited today as I finished getting dressed and did my makeup as the rest of our band did the same. I felt my heart about to burst from being so nervous about today and I had to tell myself a hundred times that it was going to be okay. Hearing the crowd chanting out "PALAYE! PALAYE! PALAYE!", helped me to feel a little calmer since they've been my safe space for a while now.  When it was almost time for us to get on the stage, we exited the dressing room and near the door was my lovely soon-to-be fiancé as she grabbed my arm to pull me close to her and press her soft lips on mine. Immediately, I felt all my worried and anxiety melt away as I held her in my arms and continue to kiss her. When she pulled away after a couple of seconds, she looked into my eyes with a sweet smile and blush on her face, telling me with pride and confidence toward me, "You're gonna kill it, Rem. I love you so much." I smiled back as I kissed her forehead and told her, "I love you, my angel. I'll see you soon." She nodded and let me go to join my band, completely oblivious of what was about to happen.

After an electrifying set with our fans just going crazy, it was almost time for the special moment when I glanced over to Carina watching us perform from the side of the stage. I smiled at the sight of her and before ending our set and show, I spoke into the microphone and began giving a speech about how far Palaye has gone as a band thanks to the fans and - looking over to Carina as I said this - people in our lives who've been so supportive in our dreams to be a great rock band. Seeing her smile at my kind words for her, I invited Carina over to join me on stage and while she was hesitant at first, the chanting of our fans to have her join me made her give in to my request as she walked over with a deep blush on her face. I pulled her closer and asked her to sing "Mrs. Infamous" with me, which had always been a song I dedicated to her. She nodded and we sang together while I danced with her on the stage, a smile never leaving our faces the entire time.

Once the song was over and everyone cheered for us, I took Carina's hand in mine and politely asked her to give me back my skull ring. Amusingly, she looked surprised and was annoyed as she gave it back to me, questioning why after so long, I needed it back. My heart pounding in my chest, I told her, "So I can give you a better one", as I reached into the back pocket of my pants and pulled out a small red box containing my greatest promise yet. Her face transformed from one of confusion to one of absolute shock and impact as I got down on one knee in front of her. While I knew our audience were screaming their heads off and my brothers were cheering like animals, all my focus was primarily set on the love of my life as I declared how my love for her had never faltered since the day we met and how it only grew stronger as she was the only one in my life to make want to be a better person for her and for myself. I would go on forever, but I saved it for later as I finally asked her the four-word question I had promised to ask her since I realized I loved her more than life itself...

"Will you marry me?"

Tears were streaming down her face as I said all of that, and for almost a minute she said nothing and held no expression to let me know what she was thinking. I almost got scared she wasn't ready and, like an asshole, I trapped her in this situation when I should have been more discreet. These thoughts and fears automatically vanished from my head when I saw her slowly smiling and gave me her answer.

"Yes."

Hearing her response, I suddenly felt like I was no longer on Earth and I entered heaven thanks to this beautiful angel standing in front of me. Elated, I stood up slowly with a dumb grin on my face as I pulled the ring out from the box and slid it onto her finger, officially making her my fiancé and very soon - with a proper ring - my wife. As everyone around us applauded for us, I took Carina in my arms and swept her off her feet as I held her close to me and dipped her low before leaning in to kiss her, feeling like the luckiest man to ever live. No amount of money or fame in this temporary world will ever make me feel as successful as having the woman I've loved for years as my beloved partner for the rest of our lives.