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

to Percival. “Percival, why don’t you take

at Percival with remorse. “Percival…

her arm through Percival’s, her smile beaming at

that even she would have been surprised at

was driven—Vivienne was all about making

love, Mr. Wolf merely a supporting

not only less appealing than

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

and stumbled to her feet, only to collapse to her

and I never meant for things to go so far. I

and Isolde was too young to understand, at least Cecilia

her dismay, no one came to

out loud but managed

until Mara lifted her head,

tone. “What are you doing? I never blamed you in the first

mirth. He smiled, affectionately ruffling

pull this act again. Admitting your mistake is one thing, but forgiveness comes from genuine remorse, not from such theatrics. Why make

from

a kid fresh out of elementary school was too

Get up, what’s with

back onto her feet, and whether

the bed, she

side, helping Mara

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

“With today’s technology, there’s hardly anything that can’t be fixed. Just take it easy, and we’ll work