Runaway Fiancés | ONC 2023 (Complete)

Always willing to put herself last, Catalina Juárez has never rocked the boat. But that all changes when her father insists she marry a man she cannot stand to be near.

Hopping into a carriage for hire, she spends the last of her money on a ride to nowhere. Because this mysterious carriage has one rule: you go where it takes you.

Well, that was a waste of money, because she isn't even to the edge of town before she's unceremoniously dumped off at a train station. With no money to buy a ticket and no time to think of another plan, Catalina pushes through the crowd and onto the train.

Marcos Caballero has never met a problem he didn't want to solve. Traveling alone on a ticket meant for him and a woman who didn't want to be with him, he's taken in by the scared, doe-eyed look of the woman in the dining carriage.

She's ticketless and alone; he's lonely and has an excess ticket.

Stepping in to save her, he claims her as his wife, not really expecting her to play along past the point of danger. But she quickly steps into the role with ease, acting as if they've known each other their whole lives. Somehow, it seems like they might have.

But being on the run from troublesome and powerful fathers isn't without its struggles, and Catalina and Marcos are going to have to decide how much they are willing to risk to put love ahead of duty.

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This is one of the five novellas I'll be writing for this year's ONC! You can find the rest (Hang it Up, Christmas at the Cabin, Love Lies & Red Eyes, and I Don't Want to be Queen) on my profile!

For this story, I selected prompt 9. "There's an urban legend that's been circulating for years about a taxicab that doesn't take you where you want to go, but where you need to go. One night, you stepped into this cab." Except make it pre-car-era.