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

Cecilia, a few words with Mara were enough before she turned to Percival. “Percival, why don’t you take Isolde back

looked at Percival with remorse.

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

was such that even she

she was driven—Vivienne was all

love, Mr. Wolf merely a

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

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

out her IV and stumbled to her feet, only to collapse to

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

nothing and Isolde was too young to understand, at least

her dismay, no one came to

laughed out loud but managed

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

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

barely suppressed mirth. He smiled, affectionately

Vivienne has the biggest heart. She 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 such theatrics. Why make

from the

fresh out of elementary school was too much for Mara’s ego

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

Reluctantly, she climbed back onto her feet, and whether by design or not, she

herself against the bed, she

Cecilia move to her side, helping Mara back into

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

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