The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

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 cto never seeingagain?” 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. | 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 scloth as Gillian had been.

If she were to be signed and groomed properly, she i J. outshine Kala! Kala: Impossible, utterly impossible! Vivienne propped her chin in her palm, her mind racing with possibilities.

For Cecilia, a few words with Mara were enough before she turned to Percival. “Percival, why don’t you take Isolde back home? Everything's under control here. I'll stay with her.” Slowly sitting up, Mara looked at Percival with remorse. “Percival... Viv... Vivienne.” Vivienne stood, looping her arm through Percival’s, her smile beaming at Mara. “It's been a while.” Her warmth was such that even she would have been surprised at herself.

But she was driven—Vivienne was all about making money.

Money was her true love, Mr. Wolf merely a supporting act! Percival thought, “Now I'm not only less appealing than a strawberry cheesecake but also money!” Mara had not 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 hand! She yanked out her IV and stumbled to her feet, only to collapse to her knees with a thud.

“Vivienne, | was wrong about everything before. Please forgive me. Gillian and Grandma misled me, and | never meant for things to go so far. | was awful, please don’t be angry withanymore? | admit my fault.” Mara knelt there, 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 real, right? To her dismay, no one cto her aid.

Vivienne nearly laughed out loud but managed to keep her composure.

The room fell into an awkward silence until Mara lifted her head, her eyes filled with fear and pleading, “Vivienne, will you forgive me?” Vivienne responded with a smile, mimicking Mara’s tone. “What are you doing? | never blamed you in the first place.” Percival glanced at Vivienne, noting her barely suppressed mirth. He smiled, affectionately ruffling her hair.

“Yeah, Vivienne is so magnanimous, truly kind-hearted.” “That's true. Vivienne has the biggest heart. She doesn’t hold grudges easily. Mara, don’t pull this act again.

Admitting your mistake is one thing, but forgiveness comes from genuine remorse, not from such theatrics. Why make everyone uncomfortable?” Isolde snorted from the corner, unimpressed.

Being scolded by a kid fresh out of elementary school was too much for Mara’s ego to handle.

Cecilia sighed. “Mara, Isolde is right. Get up, what's with this kneeling and head-bowing?” “But what else could | 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 face.

Propping herself against the bed, she clutched her cheek. “Ah, it hurts!” Only then did Cecilia move to her side, helping Mara back into bed. “You need to rest.” “Auntie, will my scar ever heal?” Mara clung to Cecilia's hand, her eyes betraying a fragility, like a delicate flower about to be blown away.

Cecilia exhaled softly. “With today’s technology, there's hardly anything that can’t be fixed. Just take it easy, and we'll work through this.” A textbook consolation.

Mara’s tears burst forth, her sobs heart-wrenching, “I knew it. | don’t deserve a whole face. Vivienne won't forgive me, and my face will never heal, Auntie, I... I...” Her cries filled the room, and anyone might have thought a tragedy had occurred.

Percival had had enough. Taking Vivienne by the hand, he made to leave.

Mara lunged forward, grabbing Vivienne’s wrist. “Vivienne, are you really not going to forgive me?” Vivienne looked down at the tear-streaked face before her, a picture of misery.

“As | said, | forgive you.” Mara was pushing her luck. “So... could you, maybe, fix up my face? You're the Specter Healers, right? This little scratch is nothing for someone like you, isn’t it? Vivienne, I'm begging you, please helpout!” Vivienne's lips curved into a slight smile, not pulling her wrist away. She had intended for Mara to catch her.

After all, if it were up to her, Mara would not even be able to touch her.

“Alright,” Vivienne said calmly, nodding her head with an air of indifference.

Mara was momentarily stunned. That easy? She was not going to ask for 800 million again, was she? Forget 800 million— Mara was so broke that she could not even scrounge up a measly eighty bucks without hitting up Cecilia.