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!

propped her chin in her palm, her mind racing

turned to Percival. “Percival, why

Mara looked at Percival

arm through Percival’s, her smile

was such that even she would have been surprised

she was driven—Vivienne was all about making

Mr. Wolf merely a

I’m not only less appealing than

was the case, she was not about to miss this opportunity

to her feet, only to

for

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

one came to

laughed out loud but

silence until Mara lifted her head, her eyes filled with fear and pleading,

a smile, mimicking Mara’s tone. “What are

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

biggest heart. She doesn’t hold grudges easily. Mara, don’t pull this act again. Admitting your mistake

snorted from

out of elementary school

is right. Get up,

she climbed back onto her feet, and whether by

bed, she clutched her cheek. “Ah, it

her side, helping Mara

eyes betraying a fragility, like

technology, there’s hardly anything that can’t be fixed. Just take