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

Mara were enough before she turned to Percival. “Percival, why don’t you take Isolde

up, Mara looked at

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

such that even she would have been surprised at

was all about making

was her true love, Mr. Wolf merely

less appealing than a strawberry cheesecake but

would actually reach out 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 her knees

and I never meant for things to

she had assumed that even if Percival did nothing and Isolde was too young to understand, at least Cecilia would rush to

one

loud but managed to keep

an awkward silence until Mara lifted her head, her eyes

responded with a smile, mimicking Mara’s tone. “What are you doing? I never blamed

smiled, affectionately ruffling her hair.

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 the corner,

scolded by a kid fresh out of elementary school

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

Mara screamed silently. Reluctantly, she climbed back onto her feet, and whether by design or not, she winced at a

she clutched her

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

hand, her eyes betraying a fragility, like a delicate

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