Daughter of Defiance

Chapter one

Chapter one

Ava’s POV:

I had survived heartbreak, homelessness, and single motherhood.

But nothing—absolutely nothing—prepared me for the man behind that desk.

I clutched my bag tighter as the train slowed to a stop. I had rehearsed this line in my head for the one hundredth time.

“It’s just for a while. I need the job. Anaya’s school fees. The rent. The bar exam, everything depended on this job.

The store job barely gave me time to breathe, let alone study.

My stomach twisted.

“Dad will give me the job. I'm his only child. He’s wealthy, I shouldn't have to suffer. It's been a while, he last saw me. He would consider it.”

But then came the counter reminder that always threw me off guard:

“He threw you out when you were eight months pregnant.”

The train doors slid open. Sunlight spilled across the platform as I stepped out and lifted my head.

The building stood like a glass beast in the distance, sleek and blinding.

SILVER KLEIN.

Years ago I'd sworn I'd never return here. But desperation has a way of making you swallow your pride. This was my last resort. I blinked back the tears clouding my vision. If I was going to face Dad after all these years, I had to do it with my head held high.

Silver Klein–My father's empire. A hospital, a research institute, a legal firm, all under one extravagant roof.

I took a deep breath and walked toward it, praying I wouldn't fall apart.

I squared my shoulders now, chin up, spine stiff, and pushed open the company’s front doors.

It was about survival.

As I stepped into the lobby, my heart pounded against my ribs.

My palms were damp. I wiped them on my skirt and forced a smile I didn’t feel.

It wasn’t just the job.

It was him.

This whole place reeked of my father—his money, his power, his control.

Every polished tile whispered what I already knew: no matter what I’d survived, no matter what I’d achieved...

I had never been enough.

Not for Derek Moore.

Not when I needed him the most.

“Good morning ma'am”, I greeted the woman sitted behind the front desk with a smile.

“Morning”, she muttered sternly, barely glancing up. Why did everyone and everything have to be so cold. Typical Derek Moore. I'm not surprised.

When she saw I was still standing in her view, she lifted her head up to me. “What are you here for?”

“Derek Moore”, I panicked, the words coming out too casually.

Her eyes flicked up, brows raised slightly. I realized my mistake.

“Mr Derek Moore,” I corrected. “The CEO of Silver Klein.”

Her lips tightened. “Do you have an appointment with him today?”

“Yes, yes I do”, I didn’t. God, no, I didn’t. But I couldn’t risk her turning me away. If I could just get to him, to see him, maybe he'd consider it.

My stomach twisted. Beads of sweat trickled down my back despite the air conditioned room.

The receptionist raised a brow, as if weighing whether I was a lunatic or just misinformed, before turning and walking off, likely to check with Derek Moore. I stood frozen. What if he refused? What if he told her he wasn't expecting any Ava Moore today?

That would be it. I'd be dismissed before I even had the chance to speak.

She returned almost too quickly , her expression unreadable.

“He's in a meeting. You'll have to wait. Sit over there”, she said motioning to a nearby sofa.

My breath caught.

Great.

I muttered a quiet curse under my breath and walked stiffly toward the sofa.

I sat, spine stiff, eyes fixed on the floor tiles. Waiting. My least favorite thing in the world, especially when the person I was waiting for held the power to crush me with a single word.

I don’t know how long I’d been sitting there, five minutes, maybe ten — but every second crawled like it had teeth. I tried not to check my watch. I tried not to tap my fingers against my knee. I tried not to look like a nervous wreck.

I failed miserably.

Then I heard it.

“Miss Ava Moore?”

The receptionist’s voice cut through the air like a blade.

I stood, suddenly aware of how sweaty my palms were again. I wiped them on my skirt for the third time and forced myself to walk toward her.

“He’s ready for you now,” she said simply, stepping aside.

I nodded, but the sound of my heels clicking on the marble floor felt deafening. Like I was walking to my own sentencing.

The corridor stretched longer than I remembered or maybe it was just my pulse throbbing in my ears. The assistant opened the door for me, and I stepped into a space that smelled of leather, money, and silence.

And there he was.

Derek Moore.

My father.

Sitting behind a desk big enough to land a helicopter on.

His expression, unreadable. Cold. Regal.

His eyes flicked up from the file in front of him, slowly.

His eyes dragged over me, not with concern, not with warmth. Just calculation. And then he laughed, dry, cruel and humourless.

I swallowed hard, chin lifting despite the panic dancing in my chest.

He stood and circled the desk, slow and deliberate.

“Took you long enough,” he said, stopping just inches away. “Seven years. I expected you'd come crawling back, I just didn't think it'd take this long. What— did you run out of options?”

“A job,” I said barely above a whisper. “I…I need a job.”

“A job”, he repeated, mocking.

“Please, Dad. I need this. For Anaya. For me. We're drowning. Just this once. Please.”

I had fallen to my knees, clutching the right leg of his trouser like my life depended on it.

He didn’t flinch.

“How did you get in here?” he barked. “Didn’t I tell security never to let you in again? Get the hell out! To hell with you! And that bastard child!”

Then he stormed off, slamming the door behind him, leaving me frozen.

I stayed kneeling long after he left.

Not because I hoped he'd return.

But because I didn’t trust my legs to hold me anymore.

***

I stabbed the elevator button with trembling fingers, blinking fast. My cheeks burned with unshed tears, my breath shaky as I tried to piece herself back together.

The elevator dinged. I stepped in, head bowed, eyes on the floor, avoiding eye contact with the rest of the world.

Then I looked up.

And my world tilted.

Josh Titan.

I shouldn't have.

My chest tightened so hard I could hardly breathe.

A crisp navy suit hugged his broad shoulders. He looked composed. Polished. Powerful. He was tall and still maddeningly handsome.

Of all the people I expected to see today

Not him.

Not the boy who’d once made me believe in forever.

Not the one who shattered that dream in a single morning.

Not the boy I’d loved.

Not the man he had become.

His eyes locked onto mine.

And in that instant, everything came back.

The bleachers.

The whispers.

The heat of his hands.

The ache of his absence.

The morning he didn’t show up.

The silence that followed.

The shame.

The heartbreak.

The beginning of my undoing.

He stood.

And when his name echoed in my head, it wasn’t just pain I felt.

It was everything.

And when he looked up

His eyes widened as if he'd seen a ghost. My ghost.

Our eyes locked. Neither of us moved. For a breath. Then two.

Josh blinked first. “Ava?”

My name. On his lips. Just like that, my lungs forgot how to breathe.

I almost turned. Almost bolted. But the doors had closed. I almost screamed but my mouth refused to open.