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 palm, her mind racing

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

at Percival with

stood, looping her arm through Percival’s, her smile beaming at Mara. “It’s been a

even she would

was

Mr.

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

out to her. Since that was the case,

yanked out her IV and stumbled to her feet,

forgive me. Gillian and Grandma misled me, and I never meant for things to go so far. I was awful, please don’t be angry with me anymore? I

her forehead hitting the floor. Though intentionally hard, she had assumed that even if Percival did nothing and Isolde was too young to understand, at

dismay, no one

nearly laughed out loud but managed to

until Mara lifted her head, her eyes filled

Mara’s tone. “What are

smiled, affectionately ruffling her hair. “Yeah,

again. Admitting your mistake

from the corner,

elementary school was too much for Mara’s ego to

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

could I do to apologize?” Mara screamed silently. Reluctantly, she climbed back onto her feet, and whether by design or not, she winced at a sudden pain in her

herself against the bed, she clutched her cheek. “Ah, it

move to her side, helping Mara

her eyes betraying a

that can’t be fixed. Just take it easy, and we’ll