CHAPTER 17

Talk your talk and go viral

I just need this love spiral

Get it off your chest

Get it off my desk

~ Taylor Swift, Lavender Haze

Holly (documentary director) POV

Isabella Cullen - Introductory Interview

Isabella Cullen was a living legend.

It wasn't an opinion. It didn't matter if you liked the woman or not. The facts spoke for themselves.

She won her first Academy Award at nineteen and has since won six more, spanning acting and musical categories and including a lifetime achievement award named after her. She has eight Grammys ranging from Best New Artist to two for Album of the Year. She has four Golden Globes and three Screen Actors Guild awards. As well as a couple British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards to round out her prestigious collection.

These weren't awards you could buy (for the most part). Half of them were awarded after she nearly went to prison for murder.

She was the kind of woman who had reached a nearly unattainable level of fame by twenty and managed to grasp it again, seemingly whenever she pleased, decade by decade. She took time off when she wanted, raised her son and lived her happily ever after in Chicago with her mob boss of a husband.

Even during her quietest years, she was still one of the most talked about women in Hollywood. Still constantly brought into the conversation whether she wanted to be or not.

It was the easiest decision of my career, agreeing to be part of her documentary. It was hard not to be dazzled by her, even over the phone. It was hard to say no to her, but not because she was rude or demanding. It was because she spoke of her work with such passion and commitment that you couldn't help but see the vision just as vividly. It was easy to become completely enthralled by her and her ideas, so much so that you had no choice but to beg to be part of the project in whatever way possible.

I didn't have to beg, but I would have had she not asked me to direct her documentary.

None of the time constraints were all that worrying while I was talking to her. She was a fast worker, always had been, and liked to get things done quickly. It wasn't until I hung up the phone that I realized how utterly insane it was to get what she wanted done in a matter of months and not years.

Again, it was why she was a living legend.

I had never met her, not until I showed up at her home this afternoon. She put the entire documentary crew up in one of her husband's hotels, one he named after her. She wrote each crew member–from me to the camera operators to the PAs–letters thanking us for coming out and working with her.

My research had been done, thoroughly, but showing up at her Chicago estate had my stomach in knots. It took the crew an hour to get through the gate to be able to go on the street leading up to her home. Every bag was checked and double checked, every ID scanned and confirmed by two separate hulking men that could squish me like a grape if needed. Each piece of equipment was scanned. I even watched a few men search the interior and exterior of each vehicle.

Bella opened the door to her home with a smile and a kitchen full of food. She knew every crew member by name.

It was hard to focus on setting up the area for her introductory interview. I watched her out of the corner of my eye. She wore a remarkably simple black button down that was probably four sizes too large for her. I was fairly certain it had to be her husband's. She had the top three buttons undone and open, a stack of half a dozen shimmering necklaces hanging against her collarbone. Half of the shirt was tucked into a pair of black jeans. The heels she wore made my feet ache in sympathy.

Her makeup was minimal and simple, what she was known for usually. Half of her hair was pulled up, a few strands framing her face as the rest fell down her shoulders in natural waves.

She stood off to the side while we set up, and I had a sneaking suspicion it was because she wanted to be the one arranging the cameras. She leaned against the far wall, her husband by her side. He was far more tense than her, arms crossed over his chest as he constantly scanned the room with a slight frown. The only time I had seen him smile since we arrived was when she came to his side, wrapping her arm through his stiff one.

She knew when we were almost ready, walking over and taking a seat on the plush cream couch of her living room without having to be asked. She rearranged a pillow beside her and I fought against my smile.

Because she might have been nothing but kind and professional to me, but she was still Isabella Cullen.

For every remarkable achievement she had made in Hollywood she had an equally disturbing charge against her. She was on trial for sixteen months for murder. Slept in the same bed as a man who had dozens of similar accusations thrown at him each year. She did not get to where she was by being polite and docile all of the time.

I saw the pillow for what it was; one thing she could control at the moment.

"We're just about ready, Bella," I told her, grabbing my stack of notes for this first interview and taking a few deep breaths I hoped she didn't notice.

She nodded at me, though I saw her eyes on her husband in the corner.

I took my seat across from her, behind the camera that was pointed directly at her. "Ready?"

Bella took a deep breath and rolled her neck out. "As I'll ever be."

"Is there anywhere you'd like to start?" I couldn't help myself from asking. It felt wrong to try and take her by surprise or start with too much.

Bella's lips twitched. "No. I'm trying very hard not to micromanage. It's up to you."

I nodded and took her for her word. "Tell me about your tattoos."

Her surprise was obvious, but so was her relief. She rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, pointing to the dark ink in the crook of her elbow. I didn't have to look to know it would be the delicate inscription of Things Change. "This was my first one. I got it the night, or probably morning, after the first Tainted wrap party. It was my motto growing up and I've held onto it ever since. Then, a few weeks later I was at an audition and the casting director saw it and rolled his eyes. So then, that afternoon, I went and got this one," she said with a smile, pulling the neck of her shirt over to show me the rose on her shoulder. "Maybe a little cliche, but I still love it. I also still hate auditions, so it's a win win."

Her jab about auditions made me smile. The woman had been an offer-only actress since she was twenty-one. She happily went through her roster of tattoos, the various lyrics that covered her arms and the forest she had on her side. Her face sombered up when she got to her most recent; the snake slithering up her wrist.

"I can't take credit for this one. Edward got one on his shoulder a few weeks ago. I liked it so I copied him," she told me, the smile disappearing from her voice.

She had been called a snake since she married Edward Cullen at twenty-two. She made it her theme of her reputation tour. The most recent resurgence of her label of being a snake is Nathan Lawrence's claims that her career was bought.

She skipped the tattoo I knew was fit between her shoulder blades, but it wasn't one she talked about or showed the public often. I knew it was a fairly common practice, people in gangs or the mob getting tattoos to show their commitment to the organization. To show how far they'd gone to protect it. To show they'd kill for it. And Isabella Cullen had that Cullen family crest inked in her skin since she was twenty-five.

"Did you have any idea?" I asked her, diverting from the carefully planned first day of questions in my notes. "What he was planning?"

Bella's eyes hardened. She crossed and recrossed her legs. "No. I had lunch with him two days before the Grammys… incident. I had no idea. Lawrence–" she stopped herself, taking a deep breath before she continued. "Lawrence knew better than anybody how much I hated the idea of anyone else making a documentary about me. I've dreaded it since I was twenty. People have done it before, there are dozens out there by this point, but they were all so far off it didn't matter to me.

"But, Lawrence doing it… Lawrence doing it and not telling me and starting it off by trying to discredit my entire fucking career–" she stopped herself again, but the anger didnt evaporate this time. "That matters to me."

"So all of this started for you that night. At the Grammys."

Bella pressed her lips together uncomfortably. "Yes."

"If you don't want to talk about it–"

"I don't want to talk about any of it," she growled. "I don't want to do this. I never have. I've always been honest about my life, I've written music and movies to try and show who I really am so I wouldn't have to do this."

I didn't back down from her anger. "So why are you doing it?"

She thought for a moment before her anger solidified behind her eyes. "Because if Lawrence and all of his little friends want to drag me through hell, I'm taking them all with me."

–Love|Power–

Edward Cullen - Introductory Interview

He took the spot his wife had vacated. While she had studied the room with a professional curiosity, he studied it with a much more critical eye. He didn't care about cameras or lighting or angles. It took me a moment to realize he was committing every person to his memory.

Edward Cullen's memory was not a place I wanted to be.

His reputation was just as well known as his wifes, and it made me more uneasy than I would ever admit that my name might ever cross his mind. I tried not to let that moment of panic show.

He knew, though. He had to always know the effect he had on people.

"Do you want me to leave?" Bella asked, fiddling with a water bottle as she stood across from her husband.

That air of intimidation that followed him around evaporated as soon as he turned his attention to her. His lips curved up to the right in a surprisingly charming crooked smile and his emerald eyes sparkled. "Do you think I won't be honest with you around?"

Bella shrugged. "Maybe you want to finally expose our sham of a marriage."

Edward laughed. "I'll save that for next time."

"Next time," Bella scoffed, sitting on the plush chair a few feet behind me.

It was a simple enough conversation but I couldn't help but feel like I was intruding. Very little was known about the dynamic between the two of them outside of what Bella had shown in her films and music. Most people did assume it was a sham of a marriage. Very few thought they were actually in a loving, committed relationship. Very few people thought Edward was capable of such a thing in the first place.

But here they were; joking and laughing. So obviously in love it made my own lack of a love life more depressing than usual.

I cleared my throat. "Ready?"

Edward's hard exterior was back immediately. But he put a forced smile on his face and nodded.

"Could you, well, just for production purposes, can you state your name and relation to Bella Cullen?"

Edward's answering smile wasn't as welcoming as it had been when it was aimed at his wife. This one had a bit of a menacing edge to it, with only a hint of humor. "My name is Edward Cullen. I've been married to Isabella Cullen for thirty-plus years."

"Do you remember the first time you two met?"

"Vividly," he said, his smile blinding; equal parts beautiful and viscous. He leaned back casually, crossing his ankle over his knee.

My eyes fell to the loafers on his feet that probably cost more than my car. He was an impeccably dressed man, I doubted anything on him had a price tag with less than four digits. The crisp white button down hugged his chest and the black slacks were tailored to his body perfectly. My inspection made it back up to his face, outlined with a sharp jawline and just a spattering of gray hair at his temples that looked more light highlights from the sun in his copper hair.

Bella cleared her throat quietly behind me. I didn't dare look back at her, instead looking back down at my notes.

"Bella, she…she's got this air about her. I don't know if it's confidence or success or power or hell, maybe a combination of all of it, but she walks into a room and it's like the whole world fucking stops."

"So that's what attracted you to her that first night?"

Edward smirked. "No. I didn't see that until later. The first night all I could think about were the tattoos. They're sexy as hell. Still are."

I cleared my throat this time. "What was it like, the early days of your relationship?"

"It wasn't easy. She was on tour and I had commitments in Chicago. I had never been great at monogamy up until that point. But somehow, even back then, I think we both knew. She was mine, I was hers, end of story."

"Except it's not the end of the story," I pressed. Far from it.

Edward shook his head. "No. It's not."

–Love|Power–

Alice Whitlock and Rosalie Cullen - Introductory Interview

Rosalie and Alice sat on the living room couch of Bella and Edward's luxurious Chicago estate. Neither of the homeowners were here, but the house was still bustling. Bella had a team working for her around the clock, publicists and managers and a dozen other people fronting her effort to prove that she didn't need a label or studio to get her job done.

One glance at her schedule had me exhausted.

But I was under a time crunch of my own, too.

"Are you two ready?" I asked, sitting across from them, off camera. It was the same setup for Bella and Edward's initial interviews.

They both smiled and nodded.

"Okay, if you could just start by saying your name and relation to Bella."

A look of slight stage fright flashed across Alice's face.

"It's okay," I told her. "You don't have to say anything you don't want to. I'm just trying to get a picture of Bella and her family."

Rosalie spoke up first. "I'm Rosalie Cullen. Emmett, Edward's brother, is my husband."

Rosalie was a beautiful woman. Thick blonde hair just about every woman in Los Angeles would kill for fell in effortless waves down her shoulders. She wore a lavender sweater and dark slacks. The outfit along with the diamonds on her fingers and around her neck were probably worth tens of thousands of dollars.

"I'm Alice Whitlock, Edward's sister," Alice said, finding her voice. Her appearance screamed class, just as her sister-in-laws did. She wore a cream blouse and dark jeans. A little more casual than Rosalie, but I was sure it was no less expensive.

That was lesson one I learned about the Cullen lifestyle: money spoke. Everyone walked around practically dripping in money from their cars to their jewelry.

"When did you two meet Bella?"

Alice smiled faintly. "We met her the same night Edward did. The annual Chicago Police Department gala." As she spoke, she lost the trace of anxiety she seemed to struggle with earlier. "Edward didn't know who she was when he sat down beside her, but I did. I had seen everything she had been in, and I loved Badlands. I might have geeked out a bit, probably made her a little uncomfortable."

My eyes drifted to Rosalie.

"I was at the gala, but I wasn't as… enamored with her as Alice and Edward. I was in my early twenties at the time and hadn't come to the realization that every woman wasn't competition yet. Bella was, is, beautiful. And makes it all seem so effortless. I was immediately jealous of her, as stupid as it is now."

"You guys didn't hit it off?"

"No," Rosalie shook her head. "Honestly? It probably wasn't until after her and Edward got back a few years after the trial that I got to really know her. Up until that point she seemed like this outsider invading the family."

"I had my moments, too," Alice admitted softly. "I think I liked the idea of Bella for a long time, but then there was some jealousy from me too. Because our life here, it's different from hers. From most people's. There were certain… expectations of a Cullen woman. Especially Edward's wife."

"And Bella didn't meet those expectations?"

Rosalie laughed. "Bella ripped up those expectations and danced on their grave."

"To be fair, they were never Edward's expectations. It was all from our parents. Ever since that gala, Edward has never wanted another woman."

"How did everyone else react to her and Edward? Your parents, the people in your circles?"

Both of their faces tensed.

Rosalie spoke up. "Not well."

"My parents… they never treated Bella very well. They wanted Edward to have a proper wife and never failed to let her know that."

"And the rest of Chicago?"

"There are still women in this city that hate her for marrying him. She's still gossiped about at every brunch or event."

I nodded, looking down at my notes. I had expected as much. The Chicago elite were a species of their own. A Real Housewives of Chicago would be riveting.

–Love|Power–

Emmett Cullen & Jasper Whitlock - Introductory Interview

Emmett Cullen had the same menacing presence his brother had. But while Edward could cut you down with a look, Emmett's intimidation was far more physical. His muscles bulged against his button down, but the dark brown curls and dimple on his left cheek were equally disarming.

He sat beside his brother-in-law, Jasper Whitlock. Arguably the kindest looking out of the trio, but the calmness that surrounded him seemed almost eerie. His pale blonde hair flopped over his forehead, his clothes equally as pristine as the rest of his family's.

After getting their name and relation, I got right to it. "You were all at the police benefit that first night?"

Emmett smiled. "Oh, yeah. Great night."

Jasper rolled his eyes and nodded.

"What was your first impression of Bella?"

"She was a nice girl. She answered all of my wifes questions with a smile and offered her tickets to her show without hesitation," Jasper said.

"I like to take credit for Edward and Bella getting together. I was the one who told Edward to–"

Jasper elbowed him in the ribs.

–Love|Power–

Aiden Cullen - Introductory Interview

Aiden was a near perfect mixture of his parents. Physically, he had more of his father's characteristics from the unique copper hair and the bright green eyes. They shared the same harsh features but he had his mother's demeanor. That calmness and presence that Edward told me about.

His wife, Adeline, had the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. Her dark blond hair fell in a straight line down her shoulders. Her presence was the least intimidating out of everyone I had talked to so far. She showed up with her husband, squeezing his hand and then wandered off and said something about finding his father to talk to.

I kept my question about what she wanted to talk to him about to myself.

"What was it like?" I asked Aiden after his introduction.

He finished my question for me. "Growing up with them as my parents?"

I flinched. It was a bit of a cliche question, I supposed.

But Aiden smiled. It was another thing he got from his mother, that blinding smile that made camera's go wild. "My parents… neither of them had a normal childhood. Neither of them had great parents, no one they could go to for parenting advice, no one to show them how to do it themselves."

Aiden shook his head, a wistful smile on his face. "But they never let any of that show. My childhood was probably about as picture perfect as anyone could ask for. Mom would bake me cookies every Friday after school. She's not a great cook but makes a damn good snickerdoodle. And Dad… I know everyone thinks he's a bit rough around the edges but he has never once told me he was too busy for me. I remember wandering into his office once when I was maybe five or six. I don't know what the meeting was, but it was obviously important. He sent everyone home and spent the rest of the day with me."

Aiden sighed, crossing his ankle over his knee. Mirroring his father. "I've put my parents through a lot of shit they didn't deserve, Mom especially. And they've never not had my back. I know how fucking lucky I am to have them, no matter what their jobs are."

A/N: A little different than our usual chapter, but I've had these interviews in my head for SO long. I've got a few more chapters like this planned along the way, so I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did.

Also, a big thank you to you guys for nominating me and my stories in nine categories over at the TwiFic Fandom Awards! Round one voting is open for a couple more days if you feel like heading over and dropping a vote for me :)