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

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

looked at Percival with remorse. “Percival… Viv…

arm through Percival’s, her

that even she would have been surprised

was driven—Vivienne was all about making

was her true love, Mr.

thought, “Now I’m not only less appealing than a strawberry cheesecake but

out to her. Since that was

stumbled to her feet, only to collapse to her knees with a

Please forgive me. Gillian and Grandma misled me, and I never meant for things to go so

Percival did nothing and Isolde was too young to understand, at least Cecilia would rush to stop

dismay, no one

nearly laughed out loud but managed

awkward silence until Mara lifted her head, her eyes filled with

with a smile, mimicking Mara’s tone. “What are you doing? I never blamed you in the first

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

doesn’t hold grudges easily. Mara, don’t pull this act again. Admitting your mistake is one thing, but forgiveness comes from genuine remorse, not from

from the

fresh out of elementary school was

“Mara, Isolde is right. Get

Mara screamed silently. Reluctantly, she climbed back onto her feet, and whether by design or not,

the bed, she

then did Cecilia move to her side, helping

hand, her eyes betraying a fragility, like a delicate flower about

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