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!

chin in her palm, her mind racing with

Mara were enough before she turned to Percival. "Percival, why don't you take Isolde back

Percival's, her smile beaming at Mara.

she would have been surprised at

she was driven-Vivienne was all about

was her true love, Mr.

less appealing

expected that Vivienne would actually reach out to her. Since that was the case, she was not about to miss this opportunity to overplay her

her feet,

and I never meant for things to go so far. I was awful, please

her forehead hitting the floor. Though intentionally hard, she had assumed that even if Percival did nothing and Isolde was too young to understand, at least Cecilia would rush to stop her. After all, if you're going to perform, you need to make it look

dismay, no one came to

laughed out loud but managed to keep her

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

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

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

pull this act again. Admitting your mistake is

from the

scolded by a kid fresh out of elementary school

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

what else could I do to apologize?" Mara screamed silently. Reluctantly, she climbed back onto her feet, and whether by design or not, she winced at a sudden pain in her

Cecilia move to her side, helping Mara back into