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

Chapter 22

Carina's POV

Things felt perfect now that Nina and her son, Oliver, were here with the entire family. Although I wished that Del and her family were here as well, I knew that I'd still see her again soon when December arrived. My sweet dog, Fern, had been staying with Stephanie while I was in L.A. with Remington and his brothers and just seeing her again made me so happy as I played with her and showered her with affection, just as she did with her doggy kisses. The days leading up to Emerson's birthday were filled with us spending time together in Stephanie's house or doing things out in the town like we used to when we met a few years ago. I could never express enough how grateful I was that I chose to come here to study for school only to end up finding my true family and real home here in Querencia. I hoped that once Remington and I were married, we'd get to make so many beautiful memories here with our own family and grow old together. I couldn't imagine a better idea for success.

The day before we would be throwing a party for Emerson's birthday, he got into an argument with his brothers about something and it almost got physical until Nina and I had to break it up. They paused for a moment, but when we heard Oliver crying upstairs, they all stopped being so tense as Nina went up to try to calm down the baby. I was about to follow her before I heard the boys talking behind me and apologizing for whatever they might've said or did to start a fight. Emerson then began to go look for his wife and I watched from the doorway in the room where Oliver was staying as Nina managed to soothe him back into sleeping again. After she put her baby back in his crib, Nina spoke with her husband and after they talked for a while, he said he was sorry about all of it and they reconciled with a kiss and hug. I left them alone after that and found Remington in his bedroom, sitting on the other side of the bed with his head in his hands, looking upset at himself. I sat beside him and placed my hand on his knee, softly soothing him as I asked, "Rem? Are you okay?"

He didn't answer immediately, but after a few seconds, he let out a long sigh and responded to my question, "I'm sorry, Carina. I didn't mean to disturb the peace in the house. It's just that Emerson can be so annoying and I don't really help the situation and just end up making things worse for eveyone. Ugh, sometimes I wonder if things would've been easier if I were an only child since I seem to screw everything up." I took the side of his face in my hand and turned his head to face me as I exclaimed rather harshly, "I love you, Rem, but I don't ever want to hear you saying something like that again." His eyes widened in fear and confusion at what I just said, so I clarified, "You seemed to have forgotten how blessed you are to have siblings like your brothers who care about you and know what you're going through, and in a way, you've never been truly alone. God, sometimes, I get jealous at how you have two siblings to be able to talk to when I couldn't even have one brother or sister. I'd give anything to be annoyed at my siblings for one tiny disagreement instead of never feeling like anyone could understand me."

I let him go then and turned away, trying not to be too upset at myself or blame my parents for never letting me have some extra company in our family. After a while, Remington wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in for a hug, surprising me. I hugged him back as he told me, "I'm sorry, ma chérie. I might be mad at my brothers sometimes for stupid shit, but you're right. I'd never want to know what life would be like without them. I'm sorry you were an only child, and craved for something like I have." He pulled away from our hug and smiled at me as he told me, "Look at it this way: At least once we get married, you'll have two new brothers and two new sisters to be a part of your family. That's more than what you could've asked for, right?" Realizing he was right, I laughed and smiled at him, "You're right. And I couldn't be happier to have such incredible people as my extended family." He chuckled in contentment and kissed the side of my head before I told him something else.

"Speaking of siblings, I had thought about how much I hated being an only child and you seemed to have so much fun with your brothers. It made me want to tell you..." Rem's eyes widened as he asked, "Tell me what, Carina?" I gripped onto his hand and told him, "I would really love to have more than one kid. At least two." His face turned pink and then he smiled so wide that I couldn't help but smile back while also giggling at his expression, "I...I would love that, too, my sweetness. I was hoping to have a big family with you as well, but only if you were okay with it." I blushed and then leaned closer to rest my head on Rem's shoulder as I replied with, "With you by my side and eveyone we love, I'm sure having a few kids would only make our family grow bigger and more beautiful." Remington sighed like it was the best thing he ever heard in his life, and it only made me more eager to start this next chapter of my life with the boy I love.