Chapter 7

Ava’s POV

Tick-tock.

The rhythmic tick of the clock echoed louder in my head as I sat outside my father's study. Each second felt like it was dragging me closer to my fate. My heart pounded harder with every passing moment, the fear twisting tighter in my chest.

Lucas Pierce, my father, would never hurt me physically.

But emotionally? His words cut deeper than any blade ever could.

“Miss Ava, he is ready for you.”

The low voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see my father’s right-hand man; his face was expressionless as ever. I gave him a tight, barely-there smile and stood, my legs feeling heavier with every step as I walked toward the door.

With a deep breath, I entered the study.

Before I could even shut the door behind me, his voice cut through the silence like a blade.

“What is the most important thing I’ve taught you, Ava?”

My body tensed immediately, freezing me in place. I hadn’t even crossed the room yet, and the interrogation had already begun. I was wired to him in a terrifying way—my fear always led me straight to him.

My eyes automatically found him standing by the window, his back turned to me. Even without looking at me, his presence commanded every inch of the space.

He was immaculately dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, every detail sharp, as though the idea of even a wrinkle in his appearance was intolerable. For a man his age, he looked sophisticated—years of power etched into every line on his face.

He turned around, and instinctively, I took a step back.

His eyes—a piercing, icy blue, the most dominant color in mine whenever they weren’t swirling—narrowed as they locked onto me. His gaze had always been cold, calculating.

“You know how much I dislike repeating myself.”

I swallowed hard. My mouth felt dry as I forced myself to respond.

“Perfection is the only way we exist,” I muttered, the words bitter on my tongue.

“Very good,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion as he moved to sit behind his massive mahogany desk. He sat with the same poised elegance as always, as though nothing could ever make him lose control.

I stood frozen in place, my hands balled into fists at my sides.

“Now,” he continued, his gaze never leaving mine. “Why was I informed that my daughter not only ended her marriage but publicly humiliated her husband?”

My heart skipped a beat, and my mind raced. I knew this was coming. It didn’t make it any easier to hear. The disappointment in his voice was enough to make me feel like a little girl again, one who had failed him for the hundredth time.

“Ex-husband,” I muttered, the words spilling out before I could stop them.

21:53 Thu. Dec 12 Chapter 7

His eyes darkened, narrowing even more. The tension in the room thickened, and I braced myself for what was coming next.

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“And who gave you permission to make it so?” His voice was calm, but the underlying threat was unmistakable. “That question, however, is irrelevant now. You are going back to your husband, and you will issue a public apology. You will ask Dylan to take you back, and you will make sure your statement is flawless. Understood?”

One… two… three… I counted the seconds in my head, forcing myself to breathe before I spoke again.

“That’s not happening, Father,” I said, keeping my voice steady despite the fear crawling up my spine. “I’m not going back to Dylan.”

His brow lifted, his expression hardening. “And why is that?”

I didn’t answer right away. Instead, I reached up and pulled off the scarf wrapped around my neck—the one that had been hiding a fading bruise for days. My father’s gaze didn’t waver as he stared at me, but I saw something shift in his eyes—a flicker of something I couldn’t quite place.

“Because Dylan hits me, Father,” I answered, my voice trembling. “He has been hitting me since the second month we were married. I stayed because I thought I could endure it. I thought I could be the perfect Luna you always wanted, hide the marks, pretend everything was fine.”

I paused, my throat tightening as the words continued to spill out.

“And what did he do?” I continued, my voice rising. “He cheated on me. She’s even pregnant with his child. How do you expect me to go back to that?”

For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt a strange sense of release. The weight that had been crushing me for months lifted, even if just a little.

But my moment of relief was short-lived.

“Then you weren’t perfect enough,” my father said, his voice as cold as ever. “You will go back and show him that you can be.”

His words struck me like a physical blow, leaving me momentarily breathless. I stood there, staring at him, trying to process the fact that he still didn’t care. That he would never care.

The first tear slid down my cheek, unbidden. But I quickly wiped it away.

“No,” I whispered.

“You will do as I say, Ava,” he repeated, this time more firmly, though there was no need for him to raise his voice. His authority was absolute.

But something had changed in me. I wasn’t the same scared, obedient daughter who had always cowered before him. I had tasted freedom, however brief, and I wasn’t going to let it slip away so easily.

“No,” I repeated, louder this time. I straightened my spine, lifting my chin. “I won’t do as you say anymore, Father. I am twenty-four years old. I’m not a child you can order around.”

His eyes narrowed even further, and I could feel the weight of his fury pressing down on me. But I wasn’t backing down. Not this time.

“I won’t go back to Dylan,” I continued, my voice steady despite the storm of emotions swirling inside me. “I won’t pretend to be perfect for him or for you. You don’t get to control me anymore. And do you know why?”

I could see the question forming in his eyes, but before he could speak, I answered it for him.

21:53 Thu, Dec 12 OG Chapter 7

“Because I’m no longer just your daughter, Father. I am the Luna to the Alpha King.”

For the first time, real shock flickered across his face. His usually impassive expression faltered for just a second, but it was enough to give me the strength I needed to keep going.

“You may be able to control everyone else in your world, but not him.”

Suddenly, the room seemed to freeze, every molecule of air in the space becoming colder and heavier. My breath felt sharp in my chest, like inhaling shards of ice. My father didn’t have to say anything for me to know his temper had hit a dangerous peak, but when he finally spoke, the tone was more frigid than I’d ever heard.

“You got yourself involved with Grayson Blackwood?”

Each word was clipped, colder than any winter storm. I knew I’d stepped into a war zone, but I couldn’t take it back now. Steeling myself, I gave him the truth. “Yes. After I exposed Dylan for who he really is, Alpha Grayson ended the marriage because he has the power to do so, and then he asked me to be his Luna.”

I didn’t bother to mention it was a contracted position, not a real bond. That detail didn’t matter right now.

My father’s silence was sharp, slicing through the space between us. When he spoke again, his words were like venom, each one meant to wound.

“Do you hear yourself? Not only are you a disgrace and a failure, but you’re also throwing yourself from one man to another in the same breath?”

It was a dagger. Not the first, not the last, but this one cut deeper than any before. I’d always known my father was disappointed in me, but now, there it was—he thought I was nothing more than a whore.

Something inside me snapped. Lucas Pierce has never made me feel like he hated me. No. There was something absolutely different. Like a constant reminder that I was a choice and he had chosen wrong, and I was done.

I locked eyes with him, matching his icy glare. “Glad to know your opinion of me is crystal clear now. If you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be.”

Without waiting for a response, I turned my back on him. For the first time in my life, I didn’t care what he had to say. But of course, his voice lashed out, cutting through the air like a whip.

“Whatever this relationship is with Grayson, end it. Immediately.”

A triumphant smile tugged at my lips, though my chest felt tight. “I won’t be doing that, Father.”

“Then if you walk out that door, you are no longer a Pierce.”

The finality in his words made me pause, just for a second. There it was, the last threat he could make—my name, my bloodline.

Hand on the doorknob, I took a deep breath, my resolve hardening. Without looking back, I responded quietly, “Then so be it.”

And with that, I slammed the door behind me.

SEND GIFT (This should probably be removed unless it's part of the story's context)