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!

in her

before she turned to Percival. “Percival, why

looked at

her smile beaming

even she

driven—Vivienne was all about

Mr.

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

not expected that Vivienne would actually reach out to her. Since that was the case, she was

feet, only to

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

if Percival did nothing and Isolde was too young to understand, at least Cecilia would

no one came to

nearly laughed out loud but

her head, her eyes filled with fear and

are you

glanced at Vivienne, noting her barely suppressed mirth. He smiled, affectionately ruffling her

pull this act again. Admitting your mistake is one thing, but forgiveness comes from genuine remorse,

snorted from the

fresh out of elementary school

is right. Get up, what’s with this

Mara screamed silently. Reluctantly, she climbed back onto her feet, and whether by

the bed, she clutched her

helping Mara back into bed.

hand, her eyes betraying a fragility, like

can’t be fixed. Just take it easy,