Behind the Scenes (lxngdon & MaryGold)

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"I can help too." Isabelle said as she watched him working on the yard from her seat. It looked as if he could use a hand. And it didn't help that it had rained last night. At least the sun was out now, starting to dry up all it beamed on.

"I would prefer to help." She stood from her chair and began picking up the scattered trash on the lawn. "It wouldn't be fair to watch you do all the work."

It was worked into her mannerisms to help out when needed. Having six siblings whom you shared practically everything with, including chores, had did that to her. To them all, she was sure.
 
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Ethan watched her and seriously considered telling her not to worry -- it was his house, his daughter's party and the last thing he wanted to do was to make her feel like she had to clean up after him. But she was being insistent, and Ethan could probably use the assistance.

"Okay. Just don't slip on a party hat and die."

Soon, the yard was relatively clean and Ethan was relatively satisfied with its appearance. He dumped the two trashbags into the garbage can in the yard and went back to Isabelle, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

"Thank you for helping."​
 
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"Of course." Isabelle shrugged her shoulders because it honestly wasn't a big deal for her. It was a natural reflex and she'd do it again and again, even if they weren't dating. She would think anyone would do the same.

She hooked her arm around his waist and looked up at his face, "Ethan, you don't have to do everything yourself. You do know that, right?"

Over the time in and out of set for the months that had gone by, he was a very dependable and caring. And noticeable independent, which was natural. But she didn't want him to refuse her help if he could use it.

She wasn't sure if it was woven into him when he became a single parent or way before. When his parents had passed away. Either way, it was a sad thing to think about and she wanted him to know she was there and she could and would help.

"I'm more than just a pretty face." She said, jokingly. "And I am very capable and willing to help you."
 
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"You're not pretty, you're beautiful," Ethan murmured at once. He meant it. Pretty was an insult to her. Isabelle was so perfect to Ethan, it was odd to think that she was even real. She looked like she belonged in a painting.

"I guess I'm just used to doing everything." Ethan had never wanted a housekeeper because he had never needed one. He didn't mind cleaning up, and he wanted his daughter to have as much of a normal life as possible.

"I love you," Ethan reminded Isabelle.

He lead her upstairs and into the theatre room, where the kids were watching Ratatouille and he sat down beside Bianca with Isabelle on Noah's other side, the kids between them.​
 
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Isabelle smiled warmly as Noah laid his head in her lap and got comfortable. She gently brushed her fingers through his dark brown silk like hair and mentally noted to give him a haircut later. But for now, she focused on the movie in front of her and never felt more happy in content with herself.

"The rat is a chef like abuelo ..."

"Yeah, Remy is." Of course a rat in the kitchen would be the worse sign in real life. And her father, owning a restaurant himself, hated rats. But he loved this movie for some strange.

She leaned over and kissed Noah's head. Content, with her surroundings and how her morning started, she sat back and sunk into the couch with her beautiful Noah, wonderful Bianca and her loving boyfriend. To think she would have reached this point so soon.
 
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Ethan felt so content here, laying on a beanbag with his daughter, his girlfriend and her son. Bianca snuggled up against his chest and Ethan used one arm to keep her close, while he used the other to reach over and run his fingers soothingly through Isabelle's long, thick locks.

"Daddy, can we get a rat?"

"What? You just got a puppy!"

"Oh, yeah."

Ethan chuckled and rolled his eyes.​
 
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Isabelle could have stayed this happy forever. With Ethan, Bianca and her Noah. And that feeling did last throughout the week. It felt as if nothing could go wrong. She finished the filming of television series, her favorite television series. But having Ethan made that paled in comparison.

She had never been so happy. Nothing could take that away. Ha.

That was until approximately a week later when she was browsing through the internet other phone. And then she found her name trending. She was uncertain whether it may have been about her acting being intolerable or excellent or something else entirely. Obviously, it was the latter.

And with the word 'leak' involved, it didn't leave her feeling easy at all. In fact, she felt incredibly apprehensive about the entire thing. But she clicked anyway, scrolled through and immediately regretted doing so. Because seeing a picture or two or three of your self topless on the internet for all to see never left you with a good feeling.

She didn't know whether to scream or cry, her face did pale horribly and she didn't dare to read the comments further below. Bit when she was able to feel something more besides shock, she was able to let out a helpless cry.

"Oh my god!" She tapped the image rapidly as if it would somehow magically make it disappear from her sight, from everyone's sight.
 
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The past week had been wonderful. He had spent it with Isabelle and their children -- he was glad that she had minimal qualms about spending the night at his place, or six nights, to be more specific. They had not been intimate, but the cuddling and gentle kisses had been more than enough for Ethan. He had absolutely no issues with taking it slow.

And he was glad that Bianca had another child to play with. He absolutely adored his daughter and had never had an issue with playing with her, but he had to admit, it was nice to have some time to himself when Bianca was playing with Noah. Granted, that time was generally spent with Isabelle, but that was just as perfect.

He was driving the kids home from an ice cream mission and had just opened Twitter on his phone as he parked in the garage, since his phone was being bombarded with texts and notifications, informing him that Isabelle was trending. Ethan's first thought was that it was to do with her acting, since a couple of episodes of Asylum had premiered now, and it would only be natural for her to gain some media attention.

But then he saw the photos.

Ethan closed the app almost as soon as he had seen them, and remained still as the kids ran inside with large punnets of about six different flavours of ice cream. He didn't click away because he was disgusted -- no, he clicked away because he knew he wasn't meant to see them. No, those images had not been meant for his eyes. He didn't know who they had been meant for, but he wouldn't violate his girlfriend's privacy by viewing her past decisions like a perv.

Slowly, he walked inside and found Isabelle on the couch. She looked panicked, and Ethan's heart sank to see how shaken up she was by this leak. He carefully took the phone from her, closed the app and sat down, taking both of her hands in his own.

"Do you want to talk about it?"​
 
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Isabelle had been taken by a slight surprise by Ethan, she had been so involved with her phone and own thoughts she had drowned out the noise of all that was around her. But he was there. He was there, sitting beside her, taking her hands and asking her.

Did she want to talk about it?

"No!" She didn't mean to raise her voice and she made sure to immediately lower it after that. Bug it meant that he knew, he saw. And of course he would, but it only made her feel worse.

They hadn't even reached that level of intimacy where she had been able to take off any clothing yet. And then this had to happen. She didn't know what he was thinking or feeling about it, but if it had anything to do with disgust than she would understand.

She too was disgusted with those pictures, with herself. She had never felt so mortified in her life before. If he saw them, everyone would have too, including her last co-stars, her friends and her family. She wanted to do.

Isabelle's eyes prickled with tears, she was unsure if it was appropriate to cry over this, but she couldn't help it."What I want is for it to disappear." She cried, ripping her hands from his hold and burying her face in them. She couldn't look at him, or anyone.
 
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Ethan didn't know what to do. He looked at Isabelle rather helplessly -- he had never had to deal with leaks like this because he had never taken such photographs of himself. But he knew people who had, Jessa included, and he got an idea of how to help his girlfriend.

"It's going to be okay," he murmured, pulling her in and cradling her to his chest as he pulled out his pocket and dialed the number of the man who ran the Twitter page that had leaked the photos.

"Yeah, Hadrian, hi, can you fucking take those pictures of Isabelle King down? Why? Because you have no right to post them ... yeah, yeah, whatever ... 'kay ... fuck you too."

Ethan checked the page and the pictures were gone. That didn't mean they were gone everywhere, by any means, but it was a start.

"Hey," he said to Isabelle, tenderly brushing her hair out of her face. "This isn't the end of the world."​
 
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"I know," Isabelle puffed and sighed deeply. And she did know, it was simply too stressful for her to erase from her mind. At the very least, she felt a bit better knowing the pictures were taken down from the main and starting source.

She unveiled her face, dropping her hands onto her lap in balled up fist. She kept her eyes on her lap, so she wouldn't have to look elsewhere, and sighed, agitated with all of it. "I just - what am I supposed to do?" There was nothing for her to do, and that only made her feel worse.

"And how? How would he even have gotten those? Did he do some type of hack or - or did he get them from the original recipient?" Her voice grew smaller as she went on. The possibility of the latter only upset her further, so she hoped it to be the former. Either way, it was appalling.
 
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Ethan pulled her closer to him and rubbed her back in what was an attempt at being soothing. He couldn't understand her pain, he probably never would, but he wanted to make her feel better to the best of his ability.

"He probably got them from the original recipient," he murmured. "As awful as that is. There'd be no reason for him to hack you. You're not exactly Jennifer Lawrence-level famous yet. He hacks those types of people."

Ethan licked his lips, trying to search for something to say.

"I know this isn't what you wanted to happen, but you can't let this hold you back. It sucks, I know, but this isn't your fault and anyone who blames you for this is mad."​
 
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"But it is my fault." Isabelle scoffed, not at Ethan but herself. She knew it was a stupid idea at the time, or at least it seemed like it was, and she somehow felt it would bite her in the ass later. But not like this. This wasn't what she'd imagine what would happen.

"I took those pictures. I sent them to the person I trusted when I knew I shouldn't have." She was disgusted with herself for even being persuaded by her ex when she knew it would go sour. But he had asked so nicely and she didn't want to let him down like he had her so many times.

She peeled at her fingernails miserably. She felt sick thinking he would do something as awful as that. And even more sick with herself for being with him. "I'm such an idiot."

She almost hopped up from her seat before quickly deciding against it. "Can you pass me my phone?"
 
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"Yeah, you sent them, but you sent them clearly trusting the recipient and it is entirely their fault that you're in this position now." Ethan wasn't going to allow Isabelle to beat herself up over this. Did Jennifer Lawrence blame herself for her own leak? No!

"The asshole you sent them to, whoever that is, decided to leak something and betray your trust. That is never your fault."

Ethan cupped her face and kissed her lips delicately. "You have nothing to be ashamed of."

Upon her request he pressed the small device into her hands, licking his lips and looking at her. "What are you going to do?"​
 
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Isabelle fiddled with the phone in her hand, turning it over and pondering. "I was going to call him." She confessed, pinching her lips together tightly. She was going to call him, but she now she was unsure if she should leave it be, leave him be.

"Nate, my ex, Noah's biological father." She mumbled, burying her face in his chest. "But I don't know if it's a good idea it not anymore."

She wouldn't accomplish anything by it but taking her frustrations out on him, but he'd probably only piss her off more. Again, that would mean leaving him be because she couldn't do anything. And that felt so unfair. She hated that he could do whatever he wanted and get away with it, but she had to stay behind and pick up the pieces.

"So, then what am I suppose to do? Let it go?" It seemed like the most reasonable course of action and though it hurt, there was nothing else to do.
 
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Ethan pursed his lips. He wasn't sure if talking to Nate was the most spectacular of ideas. He knew that if he got the chance to speak to her ex, he'd have a lot more to talk about than just the photos. Not appreciating his perfect, wonderful, brilliant son, for just one thing.

But this wasn't about Noah, this was about Isabelle, and Ethan was determined to help her in any way, shape or form that he could.

"I think you should call him," he murmured, pulling back and rubbing her arms in a soothing manner. "There's a chance he was hacked. It's a slim one, but maybe if you talk to him, you can ask if he leaked them or not."

That was bullshit. There was no way he didn't leak them. But she needed to talk to him anyway.

"I'll be here, to help you through it. And I promise I won't flip my shit and berate him, as much as I'd like to do so. I'll just sit here and be good."​
 
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"Thank you." That was all she could ask for. Isabelle bit the corner of her bottom lip gently as she dialed his number, a little hesitant at first. As annoying as it was, she had memorized his number and it was forever stuck in her head despite not calling him often or at all. These days the only time she ever did talk to him was when there were any complications with the money he sent in.

She silently waited, listening to the ringing of the phone. For a moment she thought to take it off speaker phone and then started to think to let it go all together just as he answered. "Isabelle. I reckon this call is about your scandalous exposure."

"Shut up." She bitterly said in an instant, she inhaled before going on, doing her best to sound calm."I only wanted to know if you may have given those pictures away or not."

"I don't see what I would I'd personally get out of doing it. I wouldn't be surprised if you did it. To gain attention. I mean, it's not a bad plan."

"You're lucky I'm not physically there to slap you."

"I love you too. Honestly, though, I don't think I did."​
 
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Ethan leaned back against the armrest of the couch and inhaled shakily as he listened to Noah's father speak on the other end of the line. Already, Ethan knew he didn't like Nate at all. He was an asshole. And he had clearly never deserved Isabelle or Noah, not one day in his entire life.

He tried to stay quiet, but there were a few things on his mind that he wanted to express.

"For Christ's sake, please don't reduce Isabelle to a Kardashian," he said irritably, leaning back further and pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn't do anything to introduce himself because he was too irritated with the man on the other end of the line.

"Why would she have leaked them herself? She's already growing in fame. She doesn't need to act like a whore for attention and if she had leaked them, wouldn't she have leaked photos of her recently? Your logic is stupid. And she has a child -- your child, not that you've ever been a father to him in his entire fucking life. Why would she leak if her child could see those images in the future?"​
 
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"Wait, who is that?"

Isabelle sighed through her nose and slumped her shoulders. "It's my ... Boyfriend, okay?" The mention of Noah only saddened her, reminding her of the worst. Somehow he always succeeded to make her irritated without trying. And whenever her son, their son was brought up ...

"Okay. And why is he involved in this conversation? Why are you here?" He addressed Ethan sounding slightly annoyed.

"Because talking to you gives me an aneurysm." At the very least it gave her a migraine.

"You mean how like I get one every time you bring up your son to use against me?"

"I don't - he's not - how dare you -"

"Mom!" Noah surprised her so bad she dropped her phone onto her lap. "Can I see your book? The one with the pop-up pictures? I wanna show Bianca." She silently dug into her purse beside her and pulled out the small scrapbook of hers and handed it to him. "Thanks." He chirped, kissed her cheek and ran off.
 
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Ethan licked his lips and watched the little boy run off, glad that Noah hadn't picked up on the fact that his father was on the phone. He didn't want to upset the boy.

"Your son," he corrected Nate irritably. "I can't believe that you won't acknowledge your own son." His voice was calm and level, and only anyone in his presence could tell how emotional he was about this topic.

The idea of a father abandoning his child was absolutely appalling to Ethan. How could someone simply desert the life they had helped to create, thrust all the responsibility onto the mother as if she had never mattered? Ethan thought his daughter was a blessing. A beautiful, wonderful, perfect blessing he wouldn't trade the world for.

"If you're pissed off because you have a son that you have to provide for, be a man and admit it. If you're mad at Isabelle because she's so hideously burdened you with a beautiful child, be a fucking man and admit it. Don't be an immature little boy and leak something she shared with you in confidence."​
 
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