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!

propped her chin in her palm, her mind racing with

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

up, Mara looked at Percival with remorse.

arm through Percival’s, her smile

she would have been surprised

was driven—Vivienne was

Mr. Wolf merely a

appealing than a strawberry cheesecake but

that was the case, she was not about to miss this

feet, only

for things to go so far. I was awful, please don’t be angry with me anymore? I

knelt 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 stop her. After all, if you’re going to perform, you need to make it

no one came to

laughed out loud but managed to

her head, her eyes filled with fear and pleading, “Vivienne, will you

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

mirth. He smiled, affectionately ruffling her hair. “Yeah, Vivienne is so magnanimous, truly

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

snorted from the corner,

kid fresh out of elementary school was

Get up,

I do to apologize?” Mara screamed silently. Reluctantly, she climbed back onto her feet, and whether by design or not, she winced at a sudden pain in

bed, she clutched her

move to her side, helping Mara back

heal?” Mara clung to Cecilia’s hand, her eyes

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