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,

you take Isolde back home? Everything's under control

looping her arm through Percival's, her smile beaming

she would have

was

Mr.

only less appealing than a strawberry

out to her. Since that was the

her feet, only to collapse to her

and Grandma misled me, and I never meant for things to go so far. I was awful, please don't be

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

one came to her

laughed out loud but managed to keep her

into an awkward silence until Mara lifted her head, her eyes filled with fear and

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

smiled, affectionately ruffling her hair.

act again. Admitting your mistake is

snorted from

a kid fresh out of elementary

sighed. "Mara, Isolde is right. Get up, what's

she climbed back onto her feet, and whether by design or not, she winced at a sudden pain in her face. Propping herself against the bed,

Cecilia move to her side, helping Mara