Four Hot CEOs Are Obsessed With My Face

“Makenzie, don’t talk about Jason like that,” Kristen cut in, stepping protectively in front of him. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, but her voice held steady. “We’ve realized we’re meant to be together. Let’s just move on from the past, okay?”

“Move on?” Makenzie echoed, a sardonic smile curving her red lips. Her eyes gleamed with something caught between sarcasm and sorrow. Jason, trapped in her gaze, felt his heart skip a beat—her face had always had a way of holding him captive.

Jason pressed his lips into a thin line, then pulled himself together. “Makenzie, we ended things on good terms a year ago.”

“Yes. It ended.” Her voice went sharper. “It’s not like it used to be—when you’d skip class with me to play video games, or when we’d share a cup of coffee at the amusement park after riding the carousel. It’s not even like that night you had a 104-degree fever and I stayed up with you at the hospital.”

Makenzie recounted every memory, one by one, forcing them back into Jason’s conscience. She watched guilt flicker through his eyes while Kristen shifted uncomfortably beside him. The sight gave Makenzie a grim satisfaction.

Which current girlfriend wants to hear about her boyfriend’s sweet-and-sour past with his ex?

“Makenzie, enough. Please stop,” Jason said, tightening his grip on Kristen’s hand. “I made mistakes in the past, but now I only love Kristen.”

Makenzie let out a short laugh. “After three years together, you realized it was a mistake—and within a year, you found your soulmate? Even my family seems to agree.”

Kristen couldn’t help herself. “Makenzie, you were always causing trouble for me and stirring up drama. That’s when Jason finally saw you for who you really are—and left.”

“Causing you trouble?” Makenzie fixed them with a piercing stare, a bitter smile playing at her lips. “All you ever saw was poor Kristen. Not once did anyone stop to consider that I was innocent too. I never cared that Kristen reclaimed what was rightfully hers—including the family and the money. All I wanted was Jason. I loved him for three years, and he promised he’d marry only me.”

“But what happened?”

“In the end, the sister who took everything from me still wasn’t satisfied. She came back and took away the only light in my dark world. Now my family is happily planning their wedding, and I’m not even allowed to be upset?”

Watching Makenzie’s tears threaten to spill over, Jason tightened his hold on Kristen’s hand even more. Suddenly, through the sheer force of Makenzie’s love for him, he understood her past actions. Guilt and a sharp pang of heartache rose inside him. He swallowed hard, his gaze shifting almost imperceptibly.

“I didn’t mean to, Makenzie.” Kristen bit her lip, her face draining of color. “I never wanted to come between you two.”

“Of course not. You’re far too pure to do anything as underhanded as stealing your sister’s boyfriend, right? It must’ve been Jason’s wandering heart getting tangled up with yours—leading to our so-called amicable breakup. Do you know that the night he broke up with me was our three-year anniversary? I’d already bought a ring. I was ready to propose to him.”

Makenzie’s laughter was full of tears, her words sharp enough to cut. The family sat exposed. Who could say she was wrong? The story had always made it clear that Makenzie’s love for Jason burned hot and fierce.

Jason had pursued Kristen, knowing full well what it meant. Kristen had known too. The reasoning was simple: family alliances couldn’t hinge on an outsider’s involvement.

Everyone silently accepted it. Everyone empathized with Kristen’s past. No one considered Makenzie—and that was how she became the villain.

The living room seemed to grow colder, the air more suffocating than before. It was Makenzie’s mother who broke first. She rose and pulled Makenzie into her arms, her voice thick with regret. “I’m so sorry, Makenzie. I’ve always known how much you’ve endured. I always thought you were strong enough—that you wouldn’t leave us. You’ve been my daughter for so many years.”

One was Kristen, who had been with them for only three years. The other was Makenzie, who had been with them for twenty-three. Even if she wasn’t their biological daughter, Makenzie’s mother couldn’t sever that bond so easily.

Makenzie gently pushed her away. “Starting today, I, Makenzie, am leaving the Bell family. From now on, you’re Kristen’s mom—not mine.”

She turned on her heel and headed for the door.

“Makenzie!” Her brother rushed forward and grabbed her. “You don’t have a penny. Where are you going? Just apologize to Kristen and Dad. We can still be a family.”

“A family?” Makenzie shook off his grip and turned back, landing one final blow on Jason—the ex who had betrayed her. “Stay and watch my sister marry the man I loved for three years? Have children with him? Under one roof?” Her voice cracked. “I’d rather die.”

Her eyes were wet, her nose red, and she looked fragile, like she might collapse at any second. “I’m leaving for good today—as an apology for my past immaturity. I promise you all, I, Makenzie, will never interfere with Jason and Kristen again. I wish you happiness and a growing family.”

As Jason let go of Kristen’s hand, he unconsciously took a step forward.

“Jason?” Kristen seized his hand and pulled him back. “Are you going after her? Do you still love her?”

The step he’d taken faltered. He retreated, lowering his eyes as his thoughts tangled together.

He knew how much Makenzie loved him. He had loved her too—who wouldn’t fall for someone so beautiful and devoted?

But now that she was a nobody, she was no longer fit to enter his family’s gates.

System 66, which had been quietly observing all along, watched Makenzie exit with her bag. Then its tone shifted with interest as Makenzie pulled out a recording device and clicked it off. “Host, what’s that for?”

“Always have a backup plan. Didn’t you say the rumors were all about how Makenzie bullied Kristen?” she replied, weighing the recorder in her hand before slipping it back into her bag. “Now that I’m in charge, I need to clear my name before I can properly take on my role as a stand-in.”

“What do you plan to do?”

“First, find Theo Mason.”

“What for?” System 66 seemed caught between the recording and its connection to the male lead.

“To start making money, of course!” Makenzie said matter-of-factly, dialing a number from the black, gold-embossed card in her hand.

In the financial district, where skyscrapers rose like giants lording over the city, the lights of Mason Financial Group’s building blazed brightly. A meeting had just ended.

A tall man, immaculate in a tailored suit, stepped out of the boardroom, his refined, cold face utterly unreadable. Behind him, his assistant, Amari Wilson, kept his eyes fixed on a tablet, briefing him on the rest of the day’s schedule.

“Mr. Mason, we’ve handled the tabloid rumors about your brother from last night. At six p.m., you’re scheduled to meet Mr. Smith from Plains Securities. And the Diaz family matriarch called to invite you to her birthday dinner tomorrow night.”