When Mrs. Infamous Loved The Masochist... (BOOK 2)

Chapter 22

While Remington and the band were working inside the studio, I decided to spend an hour or two browsing around L.A. while I was here for before I had to leave and return to Querencia tomorrow. Keeping the hotel room key in my purse for safety, I walked around the city until I was near a department store that looked like it sold fabulous clothes and accessories. I took a chance as I stepped inside to try and find some clothes I might like to buy for myself. Inside of the store looked so flashy and shiny, I almost felt like I didn't belong here, but then an employee approached me and asked, "Hello, miss. Is there anything I can help you with?" Their helpful attitude helped me feel a little comfortable as I told them, "Well, I'm looking to buy some new clothes for myself. Where should I start?" They smiled and nodded as they motioned for me to follow them, "Allow me to lead you to the ladies' section where we have some of the latest fashion trends that you may like." I was overwhelmed by the selection of tops and bottoms, but it made me excited to look through all of them.

Browsing through the clothes, it was plain to see that fashion has evolved from since I was much younger and my mother was more conservative in the way she dressed. Observing the fashion trends now, skirts have become shorter and above the knee, there's much more color and an approaching floral aesthetic that seemed to resonate, and the style nowadays seemed to emphasize more on how these outfits should reflect more on how we feel instead of how we should dress. I wondered if any of these fashionable clothes would work for me, yet I was able to find a few potential outfits that I believed would best suit my type of style. When I was looking through the jewelry section, I heard a familiar voice from earlier today call me by my name, "Carina...Wisteria. Remington Leith's girlfriend. You're pretty interesting." I turned to see Vera standing a couple of inches from my side and giving me a judging look. I turned back to the jewelry and asked her, "Whatever do you mean by that?"

I heard her sneer as she stepped closer and continued to speak as I avoided her eyes, "You and Remington seem to belong to different leagues. He's a rebellious rock singer and the kind of bad boy that can drive me crazy while you look like a goody two-shoes who probably has never even committed a crime. How is he with you when I'm more like his type?" I rolled my eyes and tried my best to ignore her, "I'm willing to bet a million bucks...that you're still a virgin", I made the mistake of glancing at her as I tried to look away again quickly. She took the opportunity to throw it at my face, "Ha, of course you'd be. Nice and innocent girls like you are too chicken to give themselves into pleasure, unlike me who will do anything to feel good even for a moment. You're in over your head if you think your boyfriend will stay with you if you don't let him indulge in you. I'm one hundred percent sure I could satisfy him better than you ever could." I wanted so much to break her face right now, but I was in a public store and I didn't want to cause a scene.

All I could say in the moment was, "But would you ever risk your life for him like I have when he did the same for me?", her silence was enough to satisfy me, "...I didn't think so." After that, I walked away and bought my clothes before heading back to the hotel and struggle to calm myself. As soon as I did after a couple of minutes, I couldn't help but think about what Vera said about my private relationship with Remington. Why did I care so much whether or not we've gone that far? Is it possible he might leave me because I was too insecure to take such a big step in our relationship? I mean, it's made clear to both us that we are very attracted to each other and he loves to show me just how much he appreciates me which I always enjoy. But I've never had anyone love me like he does and so it's hard for me to be sure that he'll still be with me if I decide to go there and if it won't be a mistake I'll regret. I felt so tired of thinking that I fell asleep and didn't wake up until a few hours later when I realized Remington and the boys must be done recording for today.

(⬆️The dress that Carina ends up wearing in their hotel room.⬆️)

I decided to change into the new clothes I bought today. The one I liked best that I kept wearing was a beautiful and simple white dress that almost made me feel like I was living in a fantasy novel. It felt so nice as well that I could wear this anytime I wanted. I was so lost in the pretty dress I was wearing that I didn't even hear Remington come in. I twirled around in glee at one time and stumbled back to find him staring at me like he couldn't take his eyes off of me. I felt a wild blush spread across my face as he stepped closer to me and once he was standing in front of me, a beautiful grin spread across his mouth as he held me close and gazed into my eyes like a lovestruck fool after admiring me in my new dress. "Ma chérie", he whispered in a soft tone only I could hear, "forgive me for staring, but...you just look so breathtaking beautiful, I can't help but want to take in every detail about you." Those words were enough to send my heart flying as I turned away to hide my embarrassing blush, but he ended up placing a hand on cheek to turn my head back to his direction and pull me in for a soft and passionate kiss that reminded me of why I should never doubt whether Rem would ever leave me. Because we belong to each other and we wouldn't be complete without the other.