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

Mara were enough before she turned to Percival. “Percival, why don’t you take Isolde back home? Everything’s

looked at Percival with

her smile beaming at

she would

was driven—Vivienne was all about making

true love, Mr. Wolf

less appealing than

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

feet,

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

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

her dismay, no one came

laughed out loud but managed to

silence until Mara lifted her head, her eyes

are you doing? I never blamed you in the

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

true. 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

snorted from the corner,

a kid fresh out of elementary school was too

“Mara, Isolde is right. Get up,

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

she clutched her cheek. “Ah,

move to her side, helping Mara back into

heal?” Mara clung to Cecilia’s hand, her eyes betraying a fragility, like a

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