The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Without a word, Percival stepped forward and yanked the man being pecked at by the parakeet away from Birdie.

The man, powerless against the bird and certainly unable to resist Percival’s grip, allowed himself to be escorted to the lounge.

“Old Geezer! Old Geezer!” The parrot squawked triumphantly upon reaching Vivienne, ceasing its pecking frenzy to perch atop the man’s head, its tiny head held high in a display of pride as if to say: “Praise me, come on, praise me!”

Fuming, the man plucked Birdie from his head and, gripping its neck, growled menacingly, “You dumb bird, I should’ve wrung your neck when I had the chance. You ungrateful creature, what made you betray me this time?”

Flapping its wings in a futile attempt to escape, the parrot broke free and landed on Darren’s shoulder.

“Chicken tenders, chicken tenders!” It chirped.

Chicken tenders were Birdie’s favorite, and Darren had stocked up on them at home, dedicating half the freezer to the bird’s preferred snack.

Pounding his fist in frustration, the man lamented, “All for some chicken tenders, Darren? After all these years, couldn’t you have spoiled it with something fancier?”

The treacherous bird, selling him out for mere chicken tenders, just like that wretched girl!

Darren, still puzzled, asked, “Excuse me, sir, do we know each other?”

Percival, unfazed, stepped forward and ripped off the man’s disguise, revealing his true face.

Darren nearly collapsed in shock.

It was Finnian, Vivienne’s elusive mentor whom she had been hunting down for debts!

“Holy smokes! Finnian! Is that really you?”

Although Darren was a mere associate member of the mentorship, having fled the fold soon after joining, Finnian was still his mentor.

Caught off guard by Percival’s bold move, Finnian scrambled to cover his face with his elbow, exclaiming, “Wrong guy, you’ve got the wrong guy!”

Vivienne gritted her teeth fiercely. “Finnian! Put your hands down!”

the room, including Percival and Finnian, was

familiar with Vivienne knew she was

to smooth things with a sycophantic smile. “You silly

was

pang of guilt seeing her cry and hurried to comfort her, “Oh, look at you, shedding

to inspect Finnian’s head, but to everyone’s surprise, she suddenly burst

You’re not

I’m sorry! Oh dear, I haven’t seen you in a while, and you’ve become such a crybaby. Please, stop crying,

shocked to

Vivienne crying?

Vivienne, weeping

entirely out of

casually on the sofa, pulling out a piece of paper and scribbling a few lines before silently sliding it in front of

his disciple, paid no heed to

hand, sliced his finger just enough to draw blood, and pressed it onto the

flicked away her remaining tears. “Finnian, this

closely

was an IOU for

you ungrateful girl, conspiring with this outsider to swindle

IOU, her face devoid of any sorrow,

wrong. Mr. Wolf here is my fiancé, not an outsider. And don’t you think it’s fair to add a little interest to that thousand

been fixated on it for years! And now you’re charging me

me from this ungrateful

Finnian a glass of water so he would not get hoarse from

watched the scene, reminded of his grandfather. It seemed that

accusing finger at Percival. “You dare to collude with this ungrateful girl to steal my money? You

momentarily taken aback but quickly

gently down, he smiled. “I’ll

face, the epitome of a gentleman, truly one in a million. If that girl ever gives you trouble, you

Darren, seasoned in the acting world,

wasted his time in solitary; his acting chops were

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