The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

An hour had passed before Mara finally stirred, a ghostly pallor on her face. Her voice was a weak whisper, barely there.

She had never felt so terrible in her life—it was like being on death’s doorstep!

That Gillian had actually given her a bottle of sleeping pills, and here she had thought they were vitamins.

If only she had known, she would not have taken a single one!

“Mara, you’re awake.” Cecilia’s voice carried a mixture of relief and worry, as if a great weight had been lifted from her heart upon seeing Mara’s eyes open.

To underscore her feebleness, Mara coughed deliberately, a decision she instantly regretted as her stomach convulsed painfully.

“Auntie, what happened to me?” Mara’s eyes brimmed with tears, but her pain was genuine.

Cecilia sat by the hospital bed, wiping away the tears streaking Mara’s face. “Oh, you silly girl. Do you have any idea how close you came to never seeing me again?”

Mara feigned shock, glancing down at her wrist as if seeing it anew, a look of realization crossing her face. “I… I’m sorry, Auntie. I just wasn’t thinking straight.”

“You really…” Cecilia held Mara’s hand, her heart full of unsaid words.

Across the room, Percival sat brooding on the couch, his eyes stormy as the horizon’s edge.

Vivienne, on the other hand, watched the scene with a certain amusement.

Such a promising talent, indeed.

Mara seemed to be cut from the same cloth as Gillian had been.

If she were to be signed and groomed properly, she might even outshine Kala!

Kala: Impossible, utterly impossible!

her

few words with Mara were enough before she turned to Percival. “Percival, why don’t you take Isolde back home?

up, Mara looked at Percival with remorse. “Percival…

her smile

warmth was such that even she would

driven—Vivienne was all about making

Mr.

only less appealing than a strawberry cheesecake but

that Vivienne would actually reach out to her. Since that was the case, she was not about to

out her IV and stumbled to her feet, only to collapse to

everything before. Please forgive me. Gillian and Grandma misled me, and I never meant for things

assumed that even if Percival did nothing and Isolde was too young to understand,

one came to her

but managed to

fell into an awkward silence until Mara lifted her head, her eyes filled with fear and

Mara’s tone. “What are you doing? I never blamed you

noting her barely suppressed mirth. He smiled,

pull this act again. Admitting your mistake is one thing, but forgiveness

from

scolded by a kid fresh out of elementary

sighed. “Mara, Isolde is right. Get up,

else could I do to apologize?” Mara screamed silently. Reluctantly, she climbed back onto her feet, and

the bed, she clutched her cheek. “Ah,

did Cecilia move to her side, helping Mara back into bed. “You need to

my scar ever heal?” Mara clung to Cecilia’s hand, her eyes betraying a fragility, like a delicate flower about to be

exhaled softly. “With today’s technology, there’s hardly anything that can’t be fixed. Just take it easy, and we’ll