The Million-Dollar Heart

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!

chin in her

words with Mara were enough before she turned to Percival. "Percival, why don't you take Isolde back home? Everything's under control here. I'll stay with her." Slowly sitting up, Mara looked at Percival with remorse. "Percival... Viv...

her smile beaming at Mara. "It's been

was such that even she would

was driven-Vivienne was all about making

true love, Mr. Wolf merely a

less appealing

reach out to her. Since that was

her IV and stumbled to her feet, only to collapse to her

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

too young to understand, at least Cecilia would rush to

no one came

but managed to keep her

silence until Mara lifted her head, her eyes filled

smile, mimicking Mara's tone. "What are you doing? I never blamed you

smiled, affectionately

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

from the corner,

kid fresh out of elementary school was too much for Mara's

right. Get up,

Reluctantly, she climbed back onto her feet, and whether by design or not, she winced at a sudden

her side, helping