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 palm,

Mara were enough before she turned to Percival. “Percival,

Mara looked at Percival

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

that even she would

was driven—Vivienne was all about

Mr. Wolf merely a

only less appealing than a

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

her IV and stumbled to her feet, only to collapse to her knees with

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, please don’t

too young to understand, at least Cecilia would rush to stop her. After all, if you’re going to

no one

out loud but managed to keep her

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

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

He smiled, affectionately ruffling her hair.

the biggest heart. She doesn’t hold grudges easily. Mara, don’t pull this act again. Admitting your mistake

snorted from

by a kid fresh out of elementary school

is right. Get up, what’s with this kneeling

climbed back onto her feet, and whether by design or not, she winced at a sudden

the bed, she clutched her cheek.

did Cecilia move to her side, helping

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

softly. “With today’s technology, there’s hardly anything that can’t be fixed. Just take