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

Cecilia, a few words with Mara were enough before she turned to Percival. "Percival, why don't you take Isolde back home? Everything's

through Percival's, her

such that even she would have been surprised

driven-Vivienne was

love, Mr. Wolf merely a supporting

less appealing than a strawberry

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

her feet, only to collapse to her knees with a

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

was too young to understand, at

her dismay, no one

but managed to keep

head, her eyes filled with fear and

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

suppressed mirth. He smiled, affectionately ruffling her hair. "Yeah, Vivienne

don't pull this act again. Admitting your

from

scolded by a kid fresh out of elementary school

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

by design or not, she winced

move to her side, helping Mara back into bed. "You need to