The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Mara gasped, thinking, “Aaron is such a… a sucker for love, isn’t he? A real bleeding heart, the patron saint of lost causes. Even the good ol’ boy scout would tip his hat to him!”

“It’s not like it’s entirely his fault, you know. There’s been a bit of a mix-up. I’m not even sure if you can call it that. But apparently, Percival’s high school sweetheart, the one who got away, has come back into the picture. Sadly, she’s fallen ill, sought out Percival, and, of course, his heart’s just bleeding for her. He’s been doing the hospital dash non-stop.

Oh, and get this: he even had Vivienne step in for surgery. You know Vivienne is the Specter Healer. Bet she agreed to it in a heartbeat.”

Aaron clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. “What did you say? The one who got away? I thought Vivienne was Percival’s first love!”

Mara couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter. “You can’t be serious. My brother’s way past that age. His first love, Vivienne? Come on, it’s an open secret in our family. Don’t believe me? Go check out the hospital yourself. That ‘one who got away’ is currently in the VIP ward of my brother’s hospital, getting the royal treatment.”

“What’s her name?” Aaron’s voice was dark as storm clouds, his words almost grinding through his teeth.

Mara took a sip of her coffee, feigning ignorance. “What’s that?”

Aaron’s hand slammed down on the table, causing Mara to jump. “Her name! What’s the woman’s name?”

Startled, Mara nearly spilled her coffee. “Her-Her name’s Karen…”

Upon hearing the name, Aaron stormed off toward the hospital.

Mara exhaled, setting down her coffee cup and dabbing at the splatters on the table with a napkin. Her lips curled into a wry smile. “Such a firecracker, that one. Absolutely hilarious.”

No sooner had Aaron left than another figure took his place.

Mara turned and let out a scoff. “Well, if it isn’t the stray dog kicked to the curb by Vanguard Agency. What’s the matter, got too much free time on your hands now?”

The woman opposite her was Gillian. But today, Gillian was different. She didn’t bite back at Mara’s sharp tongue.

banter? As your boss, it’s quite embarrassing, you

like she’d been struck by lightning, her voice trembling. “Boss, I… I had no idea it was you. I’m so sorry,

with Gillian’s face—F-Poison—gestured for her to sit. “No worries, ignorance is

swallowed hard. Laid back,

seen firsthand how F-Poison had put Gillian in her place, making her wary of Gillian’s

pulled out a tablet and showed her a video. “Look, your younger brother’s doing just fine. I’m here to reassure

anything but reassuring; it was a

hard to drive a wedge between Aaron and Vivienne. Aaron’s

her voice was a mix of fear and eagerness

her coffee absently, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

had surgery at the hospital, and Percival has been looking after her. So, I spun a tale about

her name is Karen?” F-Poison cut her off, a sly

her in the dark, wanting to spare Vivienne

curiosity got the better

about

laugh, hands pressing against her stomach as if

spine. F-Poison’s laughter

and looked at Mara. “Have Aaron take

do I even

for a while before

a virus experiment at GTO, clearly wearing a lab

“This is?”

and he’ll understand why he has to

she glanced at the photo

eerily resembling

when Mara looked up again,

and, clutching her purse, headed

tell me which VIP ward Karen’s in?