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 chin in her

back home? Everything's under control here. I'll stay with her." Slowly

her smile beaming at Mara. "It's been

warmth was such that even she would

was driven-Vivienne was all

true love, Mr. Wolf merely a supporting

only less appealing than a strawberry cheesecake but also

her. Since that was the case, she was not

stumbled to her feet, only to collapse

Gillian and Grandma misled me, and I never meant for things to go

that even if Percival did nothing and Isolde was too young to understand, at least Cecilia would rush to stop her. After

dismay, no one

laughed out loud but

until Mara lifted her head,

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

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

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

from the

kid fresh out of elementary school

"Mara, Isolde is right. Get up,

Mara screamed silently. Reluctantly, 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, she clutched her cheek. "Ah,

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