I Married My Ex's Billionaire Father
Chapter 72: Paparazzi Again

Chapter 72: Paparazzi Again

Levi woke up with a start, a sense of unease creeping over him. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table and wondered where the unease stemmed from. It was late morning. He should have woken up hours ago. A strange silence hung over the room, usually filled with the sounds of birds chirping and the distant hum of the suburban streets.

He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. As he washed his face, he could not shake the feeling that something was amiss. He returned to the bedroom and noticed that Lyse’s side of the bed was empty.

Then, a wave of panic washed over him, then he remembered that she had returned to sleeping in her own room after the fiasco of the previous night.

He realized that he missed her and that was why he had been so uneasy, then he taunted himself for already getting comfortable with her sleeping beside him when she had only slept one night.

He reminded himself that it was a business transaction, their marriage was not exactly real so he could not afford to get used to her sleeping beside him.

He took a shower then got dressed and headed downstairs. Mr. Dalton, his ever-present butler, was waiting for him in the hallway.

"Good morning, Mr. Van Doren," Mr. Dalton greeted him, his expression grave. "There has been a bit of a problem. Miss Lyse is not in her room and it appears, that she might not have spent the night there."

Levi’s heart sank and he growled. "What do you mean she is not in her room? Have you checked around the house? Did she say where she was going?"

Mr. Dalton shook his head. "No, sir. She did not leave a note or anything, no one saw her leave but we checked the security cameras and realized that she left a little past midnight through the garden door."

A cold dread settled over Levi. He had a terrible feeling that something was wrong, he was reminded of her horrible kidnap. He immediately called his security team, ordering them to find Lyse while he wondered where she could have gone.

As he paced the living room, his phone rang. He rushed for it and frowned when he realized that it was just Ethan, not Lyse like he had hoped for. "Mr. Levi, there is a problem. The paparazzi are outside the house. They are swarming the gates."

Levi’s frustration boiled over. "Why are they here? What do they want?" He demanded.

Ethan stammered, "Apparently, someone saw Mrs Van Doren leave the house. And now they are speculating that you and her have separated thanks to your cheating."

"I. Did. Not. Cheat!" Levi roared angrily and Ethan flinched as almost dropped the phone.

"I’m... I am sorry, sir... I am only reporting what they are saying." A terrified Ethan said.

Levi took a deep breath then asked, "What of Anya, have you found her yet?" He asked impatiently.

Ethan gulped, hating to be the bearer of bad news. "Er.. erm, unfortunately..."

"Say it already!" Levi ground out.

"Miss Pavati took an outbound flight last night." Ethan said in one quick sentence.

Levi stared into space. So he had been right, Anya had set him up. He could understand why she would do that, she was a crazy self absorbed model who expected the world to fall at her feet but what did Ben Davis have against him to agree to be used to lure him.

"Find out exactly where she, down to the room and let me know immediately." Levi said, "And Ben Davis?"

"I have reached out to his team and I still have not gotten an answer." Ethan replied.

After he ended the call, his mind raced. He needed to understand what was really happening but most importantly, he needed to find Lyse, and fast. He could not let the paparazzi get to her before he did.

Chris came in, looking harassed.

"What is going on, Levi?" Chris asked, his voice filled with concern. "There is an entire swarm of paparazzi outside, coming in was a struggle. What is happening?"

"Where have you been?" Levi demanded.

"I had to leave to go and oversee the Berger deal, don’t you remember you asked me to go?" Chris asked.

Levi scratched his head as he remembered that he had indeed asked Chris to travel for the deal. He had been so caught up with his now extremely chaotic life which had gone from one madness to the other, it seemed that getting married to Lyse was more than he bargained for.

"Anya set me up, and now everyone thinks that I am cheating." Levi said.

Chris raised an eyebrow, "Well, are you?" He asked. "I know how convincing Anya can be."

"Quit it!" Levi snapped. "I don’t even care about all of that, know where Lyse is and I am worried she might get hurt."

Chris shook his head. "That is terrible. We are going to need to find her as soon as possible."

"Are you telling me?" Levi said as he ran a hand through his head in frustration.

Chris narrowed his eyes as he watched his friend pace about the room. Something felt different about Levi but he could not place his finger on it. He could not remember his calm friend being this agitated.

"Don’t worry, we will find her pretty soon." Chris assured Levi.

As they were talking, a news report flashed on the TV. The news anchor was reporting on the paparazzi frenzy outside of James’s house.

Levi’s heart pounded and he face palmed. James was Lyse’s best friend, she had probably gone there to escape him.

’Why did I not think about checking James?’

"Chris, we need to go to James’s house," Levi said, his voice filled with urgency. "That’s where she might be."

"How are we going to avoid the paps?" Chris asked.

"I have an idea and I am going to need your help." Levi said.

Chris nodded, understanding the urgency.