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!

propped her chin in her palm,

"Percival, why don't you take Isolde back home? Everything's under control here. I'll stay with her." Slowly sitting up, Mara looked

Percival's, her smile beaming at Mara. "It's been

such that even she

she was driven-Vivienne was all about

true love, Mr. Wolf

only less appealing than a

expected that Vivienne would actually reach out to her. Since that was the case, she

to her feet, only to

forgive me. Gillian and Grandma misled me, and I never meant for things to go so far. I was awful, please don't be angry with me anymore? I

had assumed that even if Percival did nothing and Isolde was too young to understand, at least Cecilia would rush

no one came

laughed out loud but managed to keep her

head, her

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

at Vivienne, noting her barely suppressed mirth. He smiled, affectionately ruffling her hair. "Yeah, Vivienne is

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

from

elementary

sighed. "Mara, Isolde is right. Get up, what's with this kneeling and

feet, and whether by design or

move to her side, helping Mara back into