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!

in her palm, her mind racing with

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

at Percival with remorse. “Percival…

looping her arm through Percival’s, her smile beaming at Mara.

warmth was such that even she

was driven—Vivienne was all

was her true love, Mr.

“Now I’m not only less appealing than a strawberry

to her. Since that was the case, she was not about to miss this opportunity

her feet, only to collapse to her knees with a

I was wrong about everything before. Please forgive me. Gillian and Grandma misled me, and I never meant for things to go so far. I was awful,

too young to understand, at least Cecilia would rush to stop her. After all, if you’re going to perform, you need to make it look real,

no one came to

but

silence until Mara lifted her head, her eyes

responded with a smile, mimicking Mara’s tone. “What are you doing?

at Vivienne, noting her barely suppressed mirth. He smiled, affectionately ruffling her

Mara, don’t pull this act again. Admitting your mistake is one thing, but forgiveness

snorted from the

of elementary school

is right. Get up, what’s with

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

bed, she clutched

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

Cecilia’s hand, her eyes betraying a fragility, like a delicate flower about to be

can’t be fixed. Just take it easy, and we’ll work through