Author's Note: Hey everyone, it's been a long time since I posted something here! I'm actually really happy because it's the first time in a while that I'm able to write something and finish it; I guess the series of events I've lived in the past years have given me inspiration. Anyway, I really hope you like this story; this is just the beginning, it's not that intense, but it will get much better. Also, for those who don't know me, I usually warn that Spanish is my first language, so please go easy on me if you see some mistakes (especially since I'm a bit out of practice). That's all I have to say! Enjoy, follow, favorite, review, everything!

Chapter 1

No.

I wanted to scream, to make everyone around the globe listen to my voice, but as much as I tried my lips couldn't move. I was stuck in my place, standing before a priest and next to a man I didn't even know. It was my wedding.

But I didn't want to get married.

"Go now in peace and live in love, sharing the most precious gifts you have—the gifts of your lives united," said the priest, smiling as if it was the best day of his life. "And may your days be long on this earth. I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Wedding music started playing, and every guest invited to the celebration cheered. Run, I told myself, but instead of fleeing my body turned in the direction of my so-called husband. I couldn't see his face; it was covered by shadows and resembled a black hole.

Yet, that didn't stop him from leaning forward and trying to kiss me.

Run, I thought again. Useless. I couldn't do anything. The man continued to lean forward, and as he did the shadows expanded. The sound of cheers died, and the church vanished. Soon, I was surrounded by darkness, and I started falling.

No.

No.

Stop.

. . .

"Stop!"

I opened my eyes and found myself no longer surrounded by darkness. Instead, I was sitting inside a train with my head leaned on the window. Fortunately, the wagon was empty except for me and a guy, but he seemed too caught up with his phone to put me attention.

It had all been a dream.

No. A nightmare. And caused by none other than the person I loved the most: my father.

How could he have done it? I know he'd accepted the money to save my life. I know he'd done it with good intentions. I know he'd done it because he loved me.

But I hated his decision.

I didn't want to marry a stranger just because his father had paid the surgery to save me. My family had had a car accident fourteen years before, and this rich guy had offered to pay our debts in exchange of my hand when I turned twenty-one.

Yeah, I was spending my twenty-first birthday in a train, trying to stay away from my father.

"Last stop: Grand Central Station," said the driver through the speakers. Suddenly, we entered a tunnel, and I knew the train would stop soon.

I grabbed my things from the seat next to mine and prepared to leave. As the train stopped, I put on my earphones and selected from my phone The Scientist, covered by Corinne Bailey Rae. Nothing like listening to sad songs when you're feeling depressed.

Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry

You don't know how lovely you are

When the doors opened, I got off the train and walked to the exit. With the music on, I felt as if I was being recorded for a music video. Then, as I reached the main concourse, the song stopped, and I received a phone call.

It was Luke.

My already broken heart broke even more. How was I supposed to tell my boyfriend that I had to marry someone else? I loved him. We'd been together since high school. We had so many dreams and plans for the future. And now everything had to end?

I couldn't take the call. I needed time to think. Plus, that's not the kind of news you give over a phone call. So, I rejected the call and continued walking.

I had nowhere to go; I was trapped in a train station in Manhattan, trying to stay away from my family. Normally, I would've crashed at Luke's, but it wasn't the correct place to go at the time.

In the end, I remained on the stairs that led to the Apple Store and watched everything on the main concourse. Plenty of people arrived, some others left. Still, the place was full. And out of all the people that existed, I had to be the one forced to marry.

Ding!

It was a text from Luke. As I opened it, my sadness grew stronger. How would I get used to be with someone else when I loved Luke?

Luke (13:09): Everything okay? Ur family called, they're looking 4 u. I'm worried. Call me back asap, xo.

I decided to ignore the text and continued wasting my time while listening to depressing music. "'Nobody said it was easy. No one ever said it would be this hard,'" I mumbled, following Corinne's voice. "'Oh, take me back to the start.'"

As the song reached to an end, I allowed a couple of tears to come out. Normally, I would've felt embarrassed of crying in public, but here, where you could find all kinds of people doing all kinds of things, I didn't feel ashamed.

"The Scientist, nightmares in the train, bloodshot eyes, tears. Rough day, huh?"

At the sound of the masculine voice, I turned to the right just to find a guy standing next to me, also overlooking the concourse. His hair was dark, just like the night sky, and I could see intense green eyes that remind me of the sea.

The guy wore black jeans and a navy blue t-shirt that hugged his upper body really well. There was something about his outfit that seemed familiar. I had seen it before…

Then, it came to me. He was the guy from the train. I'd thought he'd been distracted with his phone, but he had noticed my nightmare. And now here he was.

"I'm not following you," he said as if reading my mind. "This is just a coincidence. I usually come here when I'm having a rough day, too."

I waited in silence for a couple of seconds. My mind was deciding whether to answer or not. Then, I just sighed and said: "'Shitty' would be more appropriate than 'rough.'"

"Shitty day it is, then." He ran a hand through his hair and waited some moments in silence. "If it's not too much, can I ask if it's serious? The problem you're dealing with, I mean."

"Well, it's one of those problems that change your life completely, and as much as you want you can't go back to the old you," I replied.

"Oh, I'm really sorry about that, and welcome to the club. That's the kind of problems I always have. I'm Perseus, by the way, but you can call me Percy." The guy—Percy—finally turned to face me and offered me a hand. I was a little bit surprised by his looks; he was handsome, like Luke, but in a complete different way.

"Annabeth," I said, shaking his hand, "but you can call me…Annabeth. I don't know, everyone always calls me like that."

Percy laughed a little at my response, and even though he was a complete stranger his laugh made me feel better. "I'll call you Annabeth, then." He smiled. "Now, that's better. You look better smiling than crying. I'm glad I helped a bit."

"Your laugh is a bit contagious, I must admit." I chuckled, placing a strand of blonde hair behind my ear. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. So, Annabeth, how about we stop feeling depressed and we go get some coffee? I already made you smile, and that cheered me up a bit; I can't let us go back to being sad."

I've never been good at being friendly; most people consider me serious and cold. During normal circumstances I probably would've rejected Percy's offer, but maybe I needed to keep my mind distracted. Plus, he didn't seem like a bad guy or something. "Okay. Lead the way."

"This way."

We crossed the place until we reached a different set of stairs that led to a different concourse. This area had tables and some food shops. Percy asked me to take a seat, and I asked him to bring me a vanilla cappuccino after handing him a ten-dollar bill.

After he came back, he handed me the coffee and took the seat across from mine. He drank a few sips, and so did I, silence between us. "I just wanna talk, don't think I have other intentions," he said, raising his hands as if I'd accused him of something. "With that said, tell me about you."

"Well, as you know, my name is Annabeth," I said, feeling like it was the first day of school and I had to introduce myself to everyone. "I'm twenty-one years old, I like reading and studying, and I currently study architecture. You could say I'm a nerd; I should graduate next year, but this is my last semester."

"You don't strike me as a nerd," he said, blushing a little bit. "Your life sounds so…good. How can someone that good have problems?"

"You have no idea." Sighing, I took another sip of my coffee.

"Well, I'm Percy." I noticed he tried to stop me from feeling depressed, and that made me smile again. "I'm twenty-two. I like the sea, and sleeping, and I just graduated from college. I studied International Business."

As he said 'International Business' I realized his expression changed. There was…disgust, as if he didn't like his major.

"You don't like International Business, do you?" I asked, and he shook his head. "If you don't like that, why did you study it?"

"Remember what I said that I always have life-changing problems?" he asked with a low volume, as if he didn't want anyone else to listen. "Well, all of them are caused by none other than my father. He likes…taking control of my life. Most of my decisions have been taken by him. I wanted to study marine biology, for example. I've always loved the sea; everything related to it amazes me. But he didn't like the idea; he wants me to be prepared to own his company. So, he made me study International Business instead."

"That's…awful."

He nodded. "He's a good man. Everything he does is for my well being, but sometimes he forgets it's my life, not his."

"And why do you allow him to keep doing it?"

Shrugging, he looked down at the table and traced invisible lines with his finger. "You'll probably think it's stupid, but I guess I'm used to it. Growing up with him, I always had everything I needed; I never lacked anything, and I got used to that. I'm scared to find out that I'm not strong or smart enough to survive this world on my own, just because I never had to work hard for things before."

I took a moment to think of his answer. Then, I said: "You don't strike me as a stupid person, Percy. I'm pretty sure you're capable of handling any situation on your own, you just need to believe it. Maybe it's not the right time to start taking your own decisions, because with that mentality you won't get anywhere, but work on that. Every day, try to think that no one is better than you, and give your best. Soon, you'll be confident enough to take your own decisions."

There was silence for a couple of minutes, and he kept drawing on the table with his finger. I couldn't see his expression since he was looking down. Had I said something wrong? But then he lifted his face, and he was smiling genuinely.

"Thank you, Annabeth, that means a lot to me," he said. "It's the first time I talk about this with anyone, and what you said is probably what I needed to hear."

"What are friends for?" I grinned. He chuckled, and I drank from my coffee again. During the following hour, he told me everything about the places he'd visited. He'd gone to so many places: from Greece to small towns in South America. For a moment I wished my family was rich, too; I wanted to go everywhere.

By three o'clock, I felt much better. Of course I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that I had to marry a stranger, but my mind was distracted enough to feel upbeat. Percy got a call from his father, and I knew by his replies that he had to leave—he had to go to a meeting or something. Before saying our goodbyes, he and I exchanged phone numbers.

"It was very nice meeting you, Annabeth," he said, standing up. "And thank you. Everything you said about me being capable of doing anything made me feel good. I hope we ever meet again, and maybe by then things will be different."

"I really hope so, Percy. It was nice meeting you, too. Thank you for keeping me distracted," I said, smiling. "It's probably time to go back home and confront my own problems."

He accompanied me back to the main concourse, and we bought train tickets for different tracks. After shaking hands one more time, we separated, and I headed to track twenty-one.

It was time to head home and solve my problems.