Let's pretend, chapter 18

Zachary Walton's POV

"I don't know sir, the accountant said she closed all her accounts all over the country, he tried her cell and her land line but no one answered. He also tried to contact her via email but still nothing. Just like she disappeared sir".

With that said I stood up glaring at Mary "What do you mean disappeared!"

Mary backed away "We'll try again sir"

"You better!"

"Cousin? What is this all about, I could hear your voice from the elevator" Andy walked in and winked at Jamie "Hi beautiful"

"Leave" I told Mary who scurried away quickly. I turned my attention to Andy glaring at him "What do you want Andy?"

He was standing in his Boss suit with his hands in his pocket "I need to speak with Elise."

"She's not here and I don't think she wants to speak with you Andy. She made it pretty clear last time"

"Where is your girlfriend anyway? I've been to her house everyday of last week and never found anyone home. Every time I ask the security guy he says she's not here. This morning it was another guy so I asked where she was and he said she left, the house is on sale, and they are supposed to stay there until the house is sold. So..."

I was fuming by now, she closed her accounts, she's selling her house, what is wrong with her!

"Zach, you heard me? Is she running from someone? I couldn't find her anywhere. She's even deleted her facebook account and every other application"

"Shut up Andy, I don't have time for this. If she wants you to find her you will. And maybe she's running away from you?" I was getting angrier by the second and could hear Jamie whispering my name but I ignored her as I closed the distance between my cousin and I. "You've been nothing but a piece of shit to her, you don't deserve to be in the same room as her!" I didn't care I was yelling anymore, I was frustrated and I was also worried about Elise. Andy had the guts to come in here and ask about her after all he put her through.

"What happened between Elise and I is nothing of your concern. And I know you're not serious about her, everyone knows you only love yourself and no one else, everyone knows you have many playthings around you" he gestured to Jamie to make a point "So stop! You can fool the whole world but not me. We're the same you and I, we love women and the pleasure they can give us..."

I didn't let him finish as my fist met his jaw hard and I pulled him up by his collar "I. am. Nothing. Like. You!" I tackled him to the floor and started throwing punches at him "I would never hurt a woman, I would never kill her baby, fuck you Andy!" I threw him another punch just as security came in. "Take him out of here, he's forbidden to come through these walls!"

"Zach... are you..."

"Jamie leave. Now!"

"I can't leave you like that Zach I just can't"

"Yes you can and you will now leave before I do something we will both regret!" Once she was out, I took out my phone and called Aria.

-Hello?-

"Aria, it's me. Zachary"

-Oh, you. Yes what can I do for you Mr. Walton?-

I groaned internally and tried hard to keep calm "Where is she?"

-who?-

"Aria don't you fucking play games with me! Where is Elise?"

-I suggest you lower your tone Mr. Walton. Don't make me lose the little respect I have for you.-

"I... Aria I'm sorry. Please tell me, where's my Elise?"

-Your Elise? You have got to be kidding me, well I'm not sure actually. Last time we spoke she was leaving the country. She didn't say where she was going and she doesn't want anyone finding her, including me so just forget about it-

I was losing my patience and had no time for games "Thank you Aria" I hung up and called my PI "Reid, I need you to find me Elise Collins"

-The fake girlfriend?-

"The one and only" I hung up and threw my phone to the wall "where the hell are you Elise!"

Elise Collins POV

I grinned as Aria hung up the phone "what did he want?"

"He wants to know, and I quote 'Where is my Elise' " She burst in laughter "He sounded pissed!"

I wasn't grinning anymore I looked at the sea in front of me with a frown "why would he say that?"

"Who cares Elise, you're happy, you're in great shape and your baby is very healthy. You have your family back, Asher is in jail... and you have me right here with you. I left everything behind so we could finally enjoy ourselves"

"What if he looks for me? I looked at my belly that started showing a little, I was still 2 months pregnant but my breasts were bigger and my belly popped out a little. "If he finds me, he'll know" I said touching my belly with both hands.

"Even if he does, he won't do the same as Andy. He's not that much of a jerk. And even if he tries we won't let him. I promise"

I nodded feeling a bit reassured. But the fact he called me his gave me butterflies, I shouldn't be feeling anything toward him but I still loved him and never stopped. Maybe we just meant to be, I had to deal with it and just forget about being with him again. A couple weeks passed and I was showing more, but I wasn't scared anymore since that call he made to Aria, he never contacted her again. I walked down to the kitchen and saw my mother Alara preparing dinner; she smiled when she saw me and pulled me in a tight hug.

"So, your father called. We're not losing everything; your brother testified and owned up to his mistakes, so your dad won't be charged with anything. He took back the company and won't be coming back soon. So I was thinking... maybe we can go to him before you can't fly anymore, what do you think?"

"I'm happy for dad mama, but I don't want to go back" I shook my head wrapping my arms around my belly "You know too well that if Zachary sees me, he'll know it's his baby and I don't want that. I'm not ready for that"

"Yes baby I understand but you can't hide being pregnant, nor being a mother, you're due in less than 7 months. You can't live your life hiding. And I still think it's wrong of you not to tell him. He's the father, he has every right to know."

"He's a womanizer who only thinks about himself! I don't want him to start talking to me again just because I'm pregnant with his child. I did nothing, and he just pulled away and treated me like a stranger, and as soon as he learns I'm pregnant he'll come back into my life and I don't want that! It was easy for him to leave me once, he can do it again. I don't want my baby to get attached to her dad and then being left by him" I hadn't noticed I was crying until my mom gave me tissues and wrapped her arms securely around me.

"I'm sorry Elise. I really am. Don't think about that for now, your friends are all outside, they came here to see you. Enjoy yourself and stop worrying about him finding out."

I nodded pecking her cheek before going to the garden where Paul, Nathan, Katia Lidya and Aria were all sitting. I was so happy to see them. My parents invited them to stay over for a couple weeks knowing it would help me take my mind off of Zachary.

Zachary Walton POV

"What do you mean you couldn't find anything?! Reid it's been two weeks! I need something, anything to make sure she's okay don't leave me hanging here!"

"Zachary, I'm telling you she hasn't used her credit cards, she hasn't taken any plane, maybe she's still in the US but no security camera picked her face up! I don't even know where to look anymore"

I was pacing my office when I remembered Aria "Her friend, she must have been lying, maybe if we kept tabs on her..."

"I already did. She's not in New York, she went to Paris a couple days before you called her. She's not back yet."

"Maybe they are both in Paris?"

"I don't know I have connections, I can ask around in France but I can't promise you"

"Asher Walton!"

"What?"

"Asher Walton her brother, he owns Collin's inc. they weren't close but maybe he knows where she is?"

"I went to their company, Asher has been arrested. Someone brought in evidence that incriminated him, bribery, to money laundry among other things. He's behind bars."

"She did it" I smiled a little "Alright who is running the company now?"

"Her father. Matthew Collins. I had a meeting with him this morning, he assured me he had no idea of his daughter's whereabouts"

"And you believed him?" I raised an eyebrow, she loved her parents even if she was far away from them they kept in touch.

"Well, he looked pretty credible to me Zachary"

"Fine, I'll go see him myself" I called the driver telling him to ready the car as I made my way down. The driver took me to Collin's inc. and I made my way to her father's office. His secretary told me I needed an appointment but she wasn't as stubborn as I was. I stayed there until Matthew Collins walked out of his office looking ready to head out. "Mr. Walton?" he asked raising an eyebrow, "I don't remember setting a meeting with you"

"You haven't Mr Collins. But we need to talk"

He looked at the time and motioned me to the lifts "I have a dinner meeting so let's talk on my way out. What is it about?"

"It's about your daughter Mr Collins"

"What about my daughter?"

"I need to talk to her and I can't reach her. I've been looking for her for a couple weeks now, so I thought I might come to you"

"And what makes you think I'll tell you where she is after everything that happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I know you two pretended to be together for the sake of your mother. And I was very disappointed in Elise to have agreed to something like that, but I was happy she made the right choice and left to be honest. I don't want her to put her life on hold so you could figure out yours"

"Mr Collins, all of this started as a way out of my mother's claws, but I love your daughter, and I want nothing but to be with her for real, I stopped pretending a long time ago but she didn't notice. And I'm not even sure she has feelings for me but I won't be able to know if she does without finding her and talking to her. So please Mr Collins, tell me where she is"

I saw him smile but he shook his head "Maybe in the future. But my daughter isn't ready for you now. She'll come around don't worry, but for now let her be. Please"

I wasn't satisfied but I couldn't say anything else. They obviously didn't want me near her and I was going to respect that for the time being. Days passed, and I was back to my routine trying hard not to think about Elise. My mother wasn't a fool; she was Ella Walton after all. She knew something was up but I still didn't tell her what happened she let it go for a while and didn't bother me. She was also very busy helping Amelia who was getting more and more requests and was travelling the world for her fashion shows. She invited me to all of them and yes it could be a distraction but so far I've only attended one in Turkey and one in Milan because I had potential clients there. My face was back on the magazines and newspapers almost every day, but the headlines were different. I wasn't called the playboy anymore, but the hardworking bachelor and it put my mother off my back for good. She was glad I left my old ways behind. It wasn't that I wanted to leave them or that I just didn't enjoy being with women anymore, it was just that they weren't Elise. It had been a year since I last saw her, maybe a little more but I never lost hope knowing I'll see her again. Knowing I'll be with her again. I wanted nothing else.

Walking out of the newly finished hotel in a hurry while looking at my phone checking a few emails, I bumped into someone "Oh I'm so sorry..." I frowned "Wow, it's been so long..." I couldn't believe my eyes.

Aria smiled "Hello Mr. Walton, she held a newspaper in her hand and showed me my picture "I was just reading about you, looks like you're not the arrogant bastard you once were"

If she had said that to him a year ago he would have been so mad at her but now he just laughed along with her "Yeah well... I guess I owe it to your friend. She really changed me"

Aria smiled "yeah she does that to people"

"Can I offer you a cup of coffee?"

"I would love too but I'm actually in a bit of a hurry, I have a meeting with your sister. We're working together on her show, the one in Santorini"

"Oh yes she invited me to that, when is it?"

"It's in a week. So this is the hotel Elise designed huh?"

"Yeah... pretty amazing don't you think?"

"I think she's amazing at her job and it's a good thing she stopped being your assistant, she really made a name for herself like she always dreamed" but then her smile faded as if she said too much. "Well, I guess I'll see you around Mr. Walton"

"See you around Aria. Tell her I say hi." I smiled at her and took out my phone calling Reid as Aria went inside the hotel. "Hey buddy, I need you to look for Elise again"

-Not again Zach, we've done it so many times, she's good at hiding her tracks man-

I chuckled "We've been doing it all wrong. She started working again, as an interior designer, and looks like she made a name for herself, so now it should be easier for us to track her down. Please Reid I can't do it without her anymore"

-Fine, give me an hour, but let's say we found her. What tells you she'll want you back, after all that time. She might have moved on-

"Never, she can't move on and leave me for good. Just do it I'll be waiting".

It's been two hours since I called Reid and he hadn't reported back to me yet. I was getting restless when my mother came in with the biggest smile on her face.

"I swear mother if you say Ashley..."

"I won't. I'm saying Elise"

"Elise? What do you mean Elise?"

"I mean, I found her. I'm not stupid Zachary, I know she left you a long time ago and I know you kept looking for her. So I've decided to help you find her. And I have"