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 palm, her

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

up, Mara looked at Percival with remorse. “Percival…

her smile beaming at Mara. “It’s

such that even she would have been surprised at

she was driven—Vivienne was all

true love, Mr. Wolf merely

“Now I’m not only less appealing than

Vivienne would actually reach out to her. Since that was the

IV and stumbled to her feet, only to collapse

wrong about everything before. Please forgive me. Gillian and Grandma misled me, and I never meant for things

was too young to understand, at least Cecilia would rush to

dismay, no one came

laughed out loud but managed to keep her

fell into an awkward silence until Mara lifted her head, her eyes filled with fear and pleading, “Vivienne, will

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

barely suppressed mirth. He smiled, affectionately ruffling her hair. “Yeah,

the 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

snorted from the

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

Isolde is right. Get up, what’s

to apologize?” Mara screamed silently. Reluctantly, she climbed back onto her feet,

herself against the bed, she

side, helping Mara back into bed. “You

scar ever heal?” Mara clung to Cecilia’s hand, her eyes betraying a fragility, like a delicate flower about to be

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