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!

her palm, her mind racing

before she turned to Percival. "Percival, why don't you take Isolde back home? Everything's under control here. I'll

through Percival's, her smile

was such that even she would have been surprised at

driven-Vivienne was all about

Mr. Wolf merely a supporting

thought, "Now I'm not only less appealing than a

out to her. Since that was the case, she was not about to miss this opportunity

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

meant for things to go so far. I was awful, please don't be angry with me anymore? I admit

did nothing and Isolde was too young to understand, at least Cecilia would rush to stop

no one came to

but managed to

awkward silence until Mara lifted her head, her eyes filled with fear and pleading, "Vivienne, will

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

Vivienne, noting her barely suppressed mirth. He smiled, affectionately

easily. Mara, don't pull this act again. Admitting your mistake is one thing, but forgiveness comes

from the corner,

scolded by a kid fresh out of elementary school was too much for Mara's ego to

Get

silently. Reluctantly, she climbed back onto her feet, and whether by design or not,

to her side, helping Mara back into