A/N: I own nothing. Enjoy!

Both Percy and Annabeth were exhausted from the day's ordeals. After Percy arrived home, the rest of the events felt like a blur. After a much needed bath, Percy pulled Annabeth into his arms and both fell quickly asleep. But sleep would not come calmly for Annabeth.

That night, Annabeth felt herself enter into a strange dream. Dreams about her past life were not uncommon. Sometimes she dreamt about her married life. Other times, she would quietly weep after dreaming about her newborn daughter being forcibly taken from her arms. Those dreams had become fewer and fewer as time went on, and Annabeth forged forward with her life.

But this time, the dream was odd. Annabeth had no recollection of any of the events from her past.

She found herself in a crowd of people dressed in dark clothing. There was her mother, supported by her father. Malcolm, her beloved brother, was on his knees, tears streaming down his face. There were more familiar people she knew in the crowd. Her diligent secretary who was usually serious, now had an expression of anguish. A manager whom she had picked and mentored right off the street. A few orphans she had sponsored through an orphanage.

In a flash, Annabeth realized that she seemed to be dreaming of a funeral.

Her funeral.

Annabeth tried calling out, but no one seemed to hear her. Someone passed right through her to walk to the grave where a mahogany coffin lay and threw two white roses in. One for her, and one for her daughter.

It was as if she was a ghost, wandering among the people who had gathered together for her memorial service. Was it a dream? Or was this reality where Annabeth had returned to her past as a ghost, doomed to walk the earth as her resentment and anger would not let her pass the boundaries separating life and death?

There were more people whom she recognized now. Startled, Annabeth then saw the man standing a few feet behind her parents.

Percy.

Though she knew Percy had been a business client and then friend in her past life, Annabeth had become so accustomed to Percy's love and presence by her side that it was jarring to see him alone.

Annabeth willed herself to go forward, and she drifted closer. In this present life of Annabeth's, Rachel was not set to be Percy's arranged marriage partner, so Rachel had continued her travels in other countries, learning different painting techniques as she developed her passion for art.

Percy looked the same as ever. She reached her hand out, wanting to brush away the one tear that had escaped his sorrowful eyes. Annabeth felt bitterness rise in her heart.

I'm here, she wanted to call out. Please don't cry. Please don't be sad. I love you. All those words fell on empty ears.

Suddenly, Percy's expression changed to anger as he seemed to have spot something in the funeral. Annabeth followed the direction of his eyesight. No, it wasn't something Percy was glaring at, but someone.

Luke, that bastard of an ex-husband, threw a bouquet of white roses onto her coffin as tears streamed from his eyes. Kelli was at his side in hysterics, bawling and inconsolable.

Annabeth sneered and clenched her fists in anger. What a lovely show the pair was putting on.

But why was Percy glaring so openly at Luke? To her knowledge, while Rachel and Percy were not close with Luke, the pair was at least cordial.

The dream faded into mist before changing into another place. It was her company, only the workers Annabeth was familiar with were leaving in troves. Bemused, she found that her company was overtaken by Luke soon after her death. Employees were protesting at the front door over all the changes Luke Castellan had implemented. He had not waited long after his wife was buried before desiring all the money and assets she had worked hard to earn.

Stop it, Annabeth snapped. I don't want to see this, she cried out. Bring me back! But the dream didn't end.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted familiar dark uniforms. It was Percy, quietly watching the rowdy scene before him with a few of his Black Knights beside him. His eyes narrowed before he walked away.

The scene changed again. There seemed to be some sort of disturbance inside the Cuoran castle. The Cytheran princess had been critically injured from an attack by unknown assassins. A second princess from Cythera was brought in to be her replacement before she, too, was attacked by hired assailants. Luckily, the second princess was unharmed. Then, the Colchis princess was found to have been drugged with infertility medicine. Cuora seemed to be on the brink of war with both countries of Colchis and Cythera, as their princesses were harmed on Cuoran land during the bridal candidacy.

The staff under Crown Princess Thalia and Prince Jason worked overtime as they investigated who had attacked the Cytheran princesses. There were whispers in the court that the Cytheran princesses had been attacked by mercenaries hired by the Colchis princess, and Princess Medea had been drugged in retaliation. Among the royal staff, Annabeth saw Percy working until the early hours of morning until his appearance was gaunt.

She wanted to reach out and embrace him. This Percy seemed aged at least five years. His shoulders held unimaginable sorrow and tension.

But it seemed the extra work Percy took on was not about Cuoran political affairs. Annabeth spotted her name on the papers on his desk. The writing revealed an account of her activities, from her business to her daily routine. Another paper seemed to be a witness account of a maid from the Castellan mansion. Annabeth recalled the name of this scullery maid to be someone Annabeth had stopped the main cook from severely punishing after the young maid had broken a cup. But she wasn't able to physically flip over the paper to see what the papers underneath said. Had Percy been investigating her death?

But why? Why was Percy working so hard to figure out what had occurred to Annabeth when Luke and Kelli seemed to have everyone else fooled? It was not uncommon for women to die during childbirth.

On one of the papers, Annabeth saw that the word "asphyxiation" circled in red.

The mist thickened, and Annabeth found herself at her company again, this time in the office. Luke had occupied it now, changing her simple and organized design to one of posh and luxurious furniture. Kelli was there too, embracing Luke in a compromising situation. Suddenly, an undersecretary burst in, startling Kelli and Luke. The undersecretary blushed but stammered that a group of royal investigators were demanding to see the company's finances.

Led by Percy, ten people forced themselves into the main office and began carting away papers and files stored on the haphazard shelves. Luke protested, but Percy showed him an official warrant authorized by the royal Cuoran family. Luke was soon found guilty of tax evasion. He had been siphoning money off Annabeth's company even before Annabeth had died, but only when Annabeth had been pregnant and unable to fully run her company.

But that had not been enough. Luke Castellan was fined but retained his title as head of the Order of White Knights due to the influence of the aristocratic faction. The dream morphed and Annabeth was relocated to Kelli and Luke's wedding. It hadn't even been a year since Annabeth had passed, according to the whispered gossip of some nobles attending the wedding.

But the wedding did not go without a hitch. Before the officiant could ordain the two's marriage, Black Knights and royal soldiers burst into the scene. The attendees looked on in shock as both Luke and Kelli were arrested for the murders of Annabeth Chase Castellan and her unnamed daughter. Annabeth smiled bitterly as the pair were dragged out in chains in a humiliating fashion before all their guests. It seemed that Percy's tenacious investigating and witness interrogating had discovered the truth.

The dream seemed to morph for one last time. Annabeth was back at her grave. Her headstone was empty of mourners except for one person.

It was Percy, his head bowed. He kneeled, placing a single blue rose on top of her grave. May you find happiness in your next life, the dark-haired man prayed. That night, the blue rose took root in Annabeth's grave, feeding on her grief and anger.

The dream ended, and Annabeth drifted off to the realm of peaceful sleep, undisturbed by further dreams. Unbeknownst to her, a single teardrop fell loose from her eyelids, slowly rolling down her cheeks. As if sensing her disturbance, Percy sleepily pulled Annabeth closer to him, his arms wrapped in a warm embrace around the woman he loved and cherished like his greatest treasure.

In the late morning, Annabeth didn't recall a single shred of her strange dream the night prior, only waking up to her husband's smiling green eyes beaming down upon her.

A/N: Well, for those who were curious about what happened to Annabeth in the first timeline, here it is! A callback to the very first chapter of this story. Some isekai novels I have read will reveal what happened in the first timeline, but not many, I have to say. And only a few stories like The Princess Imprints a Traitor and the Villainess Reverses the Hourglass really explain why the main characters go back in time.

Today marks the one year anniversary of this story. I never imagined that I would be writing this far, nor did I think I would be getting this much love for this story, especially over 1k+ reviews. I'm absolutely so grateful for all the love and suggestions you have shown for this story. You all really make my day!

To guest reviewer mckenzie who mentioned we should play a victory song, well, I'll be playing Stray Kids' aptly named "Victory Song" on Friday 3/26! If people are up for it, perhaps play your favorite victory song on 3/26, dance it up, and let's just celebrate something! You can celebrate making your bed, getting your homework done, or just celebrating that it's Friday! Because goodness knows we all need something to celebrate.

As always, see you all next chapter!