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 palm,

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

looked at Percival with

her arm through Percival’s, her smile beaming at

even she would have

driven—Vivienne was

was her true love, Mr. Wolf merely a supporting

less appealing than a

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

to her feet, only to collapse to her

Please forgive me. Gillian and Grandma misled me, and I never meant for things to go so far. I was

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

one came to

out loud but managed to

head, her eyes filled with fear and

“What are you doing? I never

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

heart. She doesn’t hold grudges easily. Mara, don’t pull this act again. Admitting your mistake is one thing, but

from the

fresh out of elementary school was too much for Mara’s ego to

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

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

she

her side, helping Mara back into

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

can’t be fixed.