KIMBERLY

shit going on in the last couple of weeks, I completely forgot about Christmas.

It wasn't until Christmas Eve, when Jace went to go pick up Rina in the morning, that I finally remembered. But, at that point, it was too late.

I was known for giving great gifts but such a skill required time that I didn't have. I spent the entire day fussing over it, while Jace ignored my incessant rants. Rina did her best to console me, but I was going crazy.

I couldn't even properly appreciate my over-the-top deep red, shimmery dress because of how distraught I was.

Even in the car ride to Aunt Lucy and Uncle Eli's house, I continued complaining.

"Mom, can you please tell your daughter-in-law that she's overreacting?" Jace groaned.

"Rina, can you please tell your son that I'm not overreacting and if he says I'm overreacting again, I'll show him how I overreact?" I complained.

Rina was sitting in the passenger's seat, laughing when I inched my hands forward to wring Jace's neck.

"You two fight like you've been married for years," she replied, still laughing.

"With her, everyday feels like a year," he muttered.

I scoffed. "You just don't understand, Jace. We may have a no-gift rule, but... I just like feeling like I'm doing something for them," I admitted, resting both my elbows on the center console.

"Woman, put your seatbelt on," Jace chastised, glaring at me until I listened. "Plus, I already got gifts."

What?

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" I yelled, swatting his arm.

"Well, I didn't get something for everyone," he replied.

"That's the point," I leaned back, crossing my arms. "We don't get gifts for everyone. If we see something that reminds us of the other person, that's what we get. It's not obligatory, it's just special."

Rina smiled, turning around to face me. "You're so precious, Kimmy."

I blew her an air-kiss. "So... what'd you get?"

"I'm not telling you," Jace responded. "You'll find out when everyone else does."

I gasped dramatically. "That's not fair. I let you share credit for Gigi and Ana's gifts."

"As if anyone believed that," he scoffed. "Plus, these gifts are a little more... niche."

"Fine. Be that way," I huffed, scowling at him. "I don't think I've asked yet, but have you ever met Gigi and Ana, Rina?"

She shook her head. "Jace told me about them, but I've never met them."

"Well, you'll love them," I replied, smiling. "Anastasia is just like Alex with her dark hair and shy personality. And, like Alex, she's an absolute sweetheart when she opens up to you. Plus, her sense of humor is so underrated. Genessa takes on more after Effie with their blonde hair and vibrant personalities. She's extremely extroverted and opinionated, which makes her the life of any party. Despite being twins, they're practically the exact opposite of each other—besides sharing Effie's green eyes."

"I take it you guys are close," she responded.

I nodded. "I love everyone in my family more than anything... even Addison. They're everything to me. I don't think there's a single thing I wouldn't do for them."

Jace looked at me through the rearview mirror, a small smile on his face.

Not a single thing I wouldn't do for him.

♕♕♕

"Do you guys want to open the gifts now or after dinner?" Aunt Lucy yelled from the kitchen.

I swear that woman's vocal chords are begging for help with how often they're abused. Ashton dramatically winced at how loud she was, covering his ears and begging for her to stop yelling.

"Are you trying to make us deaf?" Ashton yelled back, still not matching his mother's volume.

"Answer the question, dummy," she replied even louder.

Since gifts weren't normal in this household, we never really had a set time to give them out. Sometimes it would be after dinner, on the morning of Christmas, a week later... whenever really.

But, with the amount of people here right now, it would probably be best to get it over with now.

I voiced my opinion and was met with nods of agreement. Not everyone—including me, Jace, and Rina—was planning to spend the night, so the probability of us being comfortable enough to open presents after dinner or tomorrow morning was slim.

Speaking of Rina, she's been thankfully having a good time.

Jace was hesitant about her coming at first, but she apparently knew most of our parents from when she was dating Alex. Plus, I was right about Gigi and Ana loving her and vice versa.

"Okay, then. Who's going first?" Aunt Lucy asked, looking at me.

Normally, it would be me, but I've got nothing. I glared at Jace, replying, "I am sadly giftless. Y'all would be shocked to know how easy it is to forget about Christmas when you're almost dying."

"Don't joke about that," Jace replied sharply, giving me a pointed look.

"I'll go," Ash blurted, handing out four gifts: one for me, Jace, Ana, and Audrey. Ash was notorious for gag gifts, so I was prepared to launch whatever he gave me at his head.

I was right. I wasn't the only one subjected to a stupid gift. Ashton got me a bubble ball, Jace a hairy chest shirt, and Ana got a giant pepper mill grinder.

The only one who got a normal gift was Audrey, who received dance warm up boots.

Awww... Ash. The little oaf really grew up.

"I'm slightly confused," Jace called out, his expression mirroring his emotion.

"Well," the oaf began explaining. "Since Kim's been accident-prone recently, I figured we'd all benefit from keeping her in a giant bubble"—I threw the wrapping paper at him—"and your ridiculous attractiveness warrants some humbling. Ana's gift is self-explanatory. And, I remember Audrey talking about how her boots were getting pretty worn out."

Ana let out a light laugh, Audrey gave her brother a small smile, and Jace still looked perplexed.

I didn't blame him. My cousin did just indirectly call him too hot to handle.

"Okay," Jace drawled. "I guess I'll go next." He gave two small boxes to Ana and Gigi and a medium-sized one to Alex.

Ana and Gigi opened theirs first, to pull out a golden chain with a small disc at the end. Jace rubbed the back of his neck as he explained. "The chain's similar to the one I have and the disk has 'King' engraved on it, like my ring."

I couldn't help the large grin I gave him when Gigi and Ana pulled him in for a hug, thanking him for it. Jace had a sheepish smile, a light flush coating his cheeks.

Alex smiled warmly at his kids before turning to open his gift. I couldn't quite see it yet, but his smile immediately dropped as his eyes glazed over. He began flipping through the pages of what looked like a... photo album.

"I ask Mom if she could make a copy of all the pictures she has of me from birth to adulthood," Jace clarified. "I thought you would like it."

Just like his daughters, Alex got up and embraced his son, a single tear slipping out of his eye. "Thank you, son. I love it so much."

Like the emotional wreck I am, a tear slipped from my eye and I hastily rubbed it away.

My work here was done.

"I have one more gift," Jace said, sitting next to me on the couch, handing me a small box. "This is for you, Kimberly."

Suspiciously, I opened the box, my jaw dropping when I saw what was inside.

"I know you were attached to your necklace, and this is by no means a replacement, but I thought you would like these angel wing earrings for your helix. It's slightly more inconspicuous, so you can wear it with whatever you want, and I know you like gold jewe—" I cut off his awkward rant by launching myself into his arms.

Not a single part of me cared that I practically mauled him in front of my family and was straddling his lap. Not a single part of me could care. This was genuinely one of the best and most thoughtful gifts I've ever received.

"Thank you, Jace," I breathed into the crook of his neck.

Jace didn't reply, just resorted to rubbing his large hand up and down my back in an attempt to soothe me.

"Damn, these make my gifts look really shitty."

♕♕♕

When Audrey was a baby, Aunt Lucy begged Uncle Eli to buy a larger dinner table, thinking that the enormous one they already had was insufficient. Uncle Eli, being completely whipped for his wife, built her one that was adjustable to account for her hostess tendencies.

Considering how many people were here, it was absolutely necessary. Obviously, the regulars were here. But now, Darius, Azariah, Rina, and Vivi's brother Caiden were here.

Caiden recently moved in with Ash's family while his and Vivi's parents went back to Singapore for business. We were all a pretty close-knit group, and Caiden and Audrey being good friends helped. He was a senior in high school, while she was still a junior, but they've known each other since birth.

I think Audrey still has a slight crush on him, but I haven't asked about it recently.

Savannah and Emre were invited, but Savannah was spending time with her family in Hawaii and Emre was swamped with work in Valdonia.

Other than that, we had a full house and endless stories to share.

"Wait, you two dated the same person?" I asked, taken aback by the revelation. Our parents loved shocking us with random details about their life.

Mom laughed. "Yes, it was the worst mistake. I remember the exact moment that I realized my ex was two-timing Luce and I."

"Please, it was so embarrassing. Sometimes I think Mother had a point about my naivety," Aunt Lucy sighed. "Here's some words of advice for you kids: never date a racer. Lord knows how many women they pick up during their travels."

"I'm so confused," Audrey muttered. "What exactly happened?"

"I was dating this Spanish racer when I first met your mom," Mom explained. "Apparently, he started a relationship with Luce when he was in America for a competition, not expecting her to come to Spain."

"Jokes on him, I'm crazy," Aunt Luce cut in.

"That's an understatement," Dad snorted, earning him a glare.

"We realized he was cheating on us and made a plan to get back at him," Mom finished. "It was phenomenal."

"How does Dad fit into this?" I asked.

Dad took the initiative. "Well, my psychotic sister—I see where you get it from, Bear—didn't tell anyone she was going to Spain."

"She ran away when Eleanor tried getting her to marry me," Alex interjected. "But I was with Rina at the time."

"I remember this," Rina added before addressing Aunt Lucy. "I felt so bad, you were only nineteen."

"Mother's like that," Aunt Lucy grimaced. "I swear she's been planning to get rid of me my entire life."

"Regardless, my baby sister was already in Spain by the time I realized she was gone. She used to leave the house all the time, so I didn't think much of it at first," Dad continued.

Aunt Lucy scoffed. "Be grateful, Li. You got to meet the love of your life because of me."

"I would've preferred that without the added heart attack," Dad snapped. "But yes, I met Raya... it was the second best day of my life."

"What's the first?" Ashton asked.

"The day Bear was born," Dad smiled wistfully. "If only I knew she'd drive me insane."

"You'd still love me anyway," I countered as he nodded.

Mom laughed. "I can't believe you consider that the second best day. I hated you at first."

Alex clapped his hands, also laughing. "Yes! I remember. Liam called me in the middle of the night to tell me all about the woman who called him a pretentious playboy."

"Was I wrong?" Mom raised her brows.

"No." Dad kissed her cheek. "But it was the start of this wild adventure. To think, our lives would be so different if Luce didn't have questionable decision making skills."

"Sleep with one eye open tonight, Li," Aunt Lucy threatened.

"Then how'd you and Dad get together if Grams was trying to get you to marry Alex?" Addison questioned. "More importantly, why are your lives so complicated?"

"The world will never know the answer to that question, honey," Aunt Lucy sighed. "Audrey, cover your ears."

"I'm almost eighteen, Mom," Audie groaned.

"Fine, but I better not hear a sound of disgust out of any of you," she warned. "You see, Alex and I were very adamant about not getting married. Liam, too."

"She was like a younger sister to me," Alex explained. "Plus, Liam would never think anyone—even his best friend—was good enough for his younger sister."

"Please, I wanted to save you."

Aunt Luce glared at Dad. "Anyway, Alex's parents got impatient, so that was the end of that, and Mother was trying to get me married to this older man whose wife had recently passed." She hesitated at this next part, pursing her lips. "So, I slept with his son," she whispered.

"Dear family, that would be me." Uncle Eli sheepishly waved.

"Why did we never know this?" I exclaimed, my jaw dropping. Jace's attempts to shut it for me were futile.

"Yeah, and is that why we're not close to Dad's side?" Ash questioned in pure disbelief. "I've spent so long upset about being the only boy in this family."

"But you're not the only boy," Uncle Eli interjected.

"Seeing as though we rarely see your side of the family, it feels like I am," Ash muttered, crossing his arms, waiting for Camelia to comfort him.

"It's not your mom's fault," Uncle Eli reasoned. "My brother and I have always been on bad terms."

I snorted. "Yeah, didn't he throw something at you the last time you two saw each other? Shit, what was it?"

"The sex toy," Vivi offered.

"No," I drawled out, shaking my head. "That was when you—Anyway, it wasn't that." I cut myself off hastily, ignored the raised eyebrows and curious expressions.

Everyone stayed silent, trying to recount the object in question before Gigi yelled, "Bong! It was a bong."

"Oh yeah," I agreed. "Uncle Eli didn't know what it was. He thought it was an oddly-shaped vase."

"Hearing Kim explain what a bong was to Dad was one of the funniest moments of my life," Ash snorted while Darius nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," Addison muttered before huffing. "Kim explaining how to use a bong... how funny."

Someone better hold me back.

"What the fuck is your problem?" I murmured darkly.

Jace held onto my shoulder, whispering in my ear. "Kimberly... it's not worth it."

"I don't have a problem," Addison replied blankly.

I scrunched up my face. "No, you clearly have a problem with me and since you want to be a bitch to me in front of everyone, let's hash it out. Why do you hate me, Addison? What did I ever do to you? What? Did you want me to not come back after we were kidnapped? Are you mad at me for being closer to Ash and Audie even though you had the chance and never gave a shit? Are you mad that I married Jace? 'Cause guess what? I didn't have control over any of those things, so tell me. What did I do to you?"

Shit.

I didn't mean to make a scene in front of everyone, but I did. The silence was unnerving as everyone watched the interaction, waiting for Addison's response, with bated breath.

The scrape of the fork against the plate from Azariah, finishing up the remainder of her food with wide eyes, and Dad's sigh were the only things that broke the silence. "Bear..."

Before he could continue, I shot up from my seat, Jace's hand dropping from my shoulder. "I need some air."

I didn't have to hear his name to know that the sounds of the chair scraping belonged to Jace, so I was eternally grateful when Rina stopped him and advised him to give me some air.

Why did I keep fucking stuff up?

***

please, the way this was one of my favorite chapters to write...

if it wasn't obvious by how much context i give to everything, i really loved talking about their parents' backstories.

anywho... y'all already know what i'm going to say.

love, zia.