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 chin in her palm, her mind

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

Mara looked at

looping her arm through Percival’s, her smile

warmth was such that even she would have

driven—Vivienne was all about

her true love, Mr. Wolf merely a supporting

I’m not only less appealing than a strawberry cheesecake but

Since that was

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

and I never meant for things to

assumed that even if Percival did nothing and Isolde was too young to

no one

but managed to

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

tone. “What are you doing?

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

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

snorted from the

kid fresh out of elementary school

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

else could 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

against the bed, she clutched her

then did Cecilia move to her side, helping Mara back into bed.

Mara clung to Cecilia’s hand, her eyes betraying a fragility, like a delicate

technology, there’s hardly anything that can’t be fixed. Just