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!

chin in her palm, her mind racing with

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

at Percival

her arm through Percival’s, her smile

that even she

was driven—Vivienne was all

was her true love, Mr. Wolf merely

appealing

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

and stumbled to her feet,

Gillian and Grandma misled me, and I never meant for things to go so far. I was

there, her forehead hitting the floor. Though intentionally hard, she had assumed that even if Percival did nothing and Isolde was too young to understand, at least Cecilia would rush to

no one came to

but

into an awkward silence until Mara lifted her head, her eyes filled with fear and pleading, “Vivienne, will you

“What are you doing? I

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

Admitting your mistake is one thing, but forgiveness comes from genuine remorse, not

snorted from

a kid fresh out of elementary school was too

sighed. “Mara, Isolde is right. Get up, what’s with this kneeling

climbed back onto her feet,

against the bed, she clutched her

side, helping Mara back into bed.

hand, her eyes betraying a

there’s hardly anything that can’t be fixed. Just take it easy,