I softly sighed into the dreary, London air with such a bitter sadness overtaking every fiber of my being, causally walking amongst other people who said not one word to each other. I wasn't doing a very good job of hiding from my father by being out in the open. But I didn't care.

"Mind if I sit with you?" I almost mumbled the question to the boy sitting on the bench, his focus on a book. He quickly looked up at me with curious eyes, a slight smile forming on his lips.

"Of course." So I sat next to him with a racing heart and troubled mind from how far I'd gotten from my father. He had no clue where I would be. And I liked it that way.

"I've been walking all morning. I can't believe I got so far without a single stop." I just said to him without question, without hesitation. I don't normally talk to someone I don't know. But somehow, he felt...... safe.

"You're all alone?" I nodded as a response to his question, his soft expression calming me down from my racing thoughts. He simply closed his book, his attention quickly put on me for the moment.

"I..... I couldn't stay. At my home. My father is...... unbearable." Controlling is more like it. He didn't let me talk to boys. That was the main rule. I could barely even leave the house to be honest.

"I'm so sorry. Do you have any other family?" I didn't. My mom had passed when I was a little girl, leaving me in the care of that monster. He wasn't always that way......

"No. Not that I know of. My father doesn't exactly let me talk to people. He's afraid I'll lose control. Whatever that means....." His saddened eyes told me that he genuinely cared without really knowing me, something I wasn't used to from anyone.

"My name is Anthony. I haven't been in London long. But it seems we were meant to run into each other." I looked upon him in such a way that I knew would be wrong to my father. He'd probably exile me to god knows where for even speaking to Anthony. But I didn't care.

"I'm (Y/N). It's so nice to meet you Anthony. Truly. And yes, I agree with you. Maybe I was meant to walk this way. Just so I'd find you." I said with so much conviction in my demeanor, that I knew this to be true. He's rather handsome, was one thing I kept reminding myself of. And he already seemed enthralled with me in such a short time.

"You don't have to go back there. You can stay with me. And we can figure out everything together. Don't worry." I believed him, with every single fiber of my being. And that day, was the day I would never return home. But start a life with Anthony, who I'd forever remain with.