The Sweetheart Persona Is Dead Teaming Up with the Brooding Movie Star

My secret habit of reading smut online was exposed. My carefully curated innocent, pure-girl image crumbled to dust. At the press conference for my new show, I accidentally stepped on my hemline and dropped straight to my knees in front of the reigning A-list movie star. Racking my brain in pure panic, I belted out at top volume: "I am completely conquered by your grace!" Well, since my sweet persona is dead anyway, I might as well unleash my true, chaotic self!! #FelicityReadsSmut # #FelicityReadAFanficSmutStarringOscarWinnerJulian # Looking at the trending page, I, the culprit, felt deep, genuine regret. How on earth did I let anyone catch me? All those years spent building my sweet, harmless sweetheart persona—completely down the drain. At this point, PR damage control was useless. My manager chewed me out over the phone and told me to fend for myself. And she was a woman of her word. She signed me up for an extreme survival reality show: Into the Wild. When the helicopter dropped me onto a deserted, untamed island, my brain melted. I felt like an innocent stray dog minding its own business, only to get randomly kicked in the ribs. Helpless. Fragile. Terrified. Wait, why the hell was Julian Vance here too? Was the universe afraid I wouldn’t cringe hard enough to dig myself an entire Barbie Dreamhouse with my bare toes? The director flashed an eight-tooth smile in the blazing sun. "Welcome everyone to Into the Wild! Guests, please say hello to our livestream audience." [The innocent flower girl is really here! Hahaha! Getting shipped off to an extreme survival show because of smut—she’s literally the first celebrity ever to pull this off!!] [The casting team is pure genius. Isn't this going to embarrass Felicity to death? A blood petition to put them in the same team!! I want to see how she faces Oscar-winner Julian!!] [Seconded!! Sign me up!!] I glanced to my left, then to my right, thoroughly perplexed. "Why are Mr. Vance and I the only guests here? Did the production spend their entire budget just booking him?" Blame my unfiltered mouth. Julian turned his head, his sharp gaze locking onto me. "The rules state that guests are split into teams of two, entering the jungle from different drop zones around the island. The first team to locate the exit wins the cash prize." I’d been rushed out here so fast that I hadn't bothered to read the rulebook at all. I nodded in sudden enlightenment, only to realize I was stuck with the legendary superstar Julian Vance. Not a single drop of joy sparked in my chest—only a desperate urge to burst into tears. Did Julian actually know I read dirty fanfiction about him? If this wasn’t hell on earth, I didn’t know what was. The director pointed at the backpacks dumped on the ground. "Here are your basic supplies. Drones will follow you the entire way. You may tap out if you face insurmountable danger. Clues to the exit are scattered throughout the jungle. Good luck, you two!" I watched the director hop back into the helicopter and take off, completely unbothered. Julian swung one pack over his shoulder and hefted the other. "It’s a bit heavy. Want me to carry some of your gear in mine?" Alarm bells instantly clanged in my head. My brow furrowed, sensing foul play. "Are you trying to steal my supplies?" "We haven't even stepped foot into the woods yet, and you're already plotting my demise? Are you getting revenge because I read about you going at it seven rounds a night in that fanfic?" [Her sweet persona is dead, and her skin is thicker than the Great Wall of China. Nothing can break through that face.] [Felicity, Julian barely uses social media! He probably had no clue, and now you just confessed to his face! That's insane! Queen behavior!] Julian shoved the backpack straight into my arms, his tone undeniably annoyed. "It seems Miss Felicity has quite an opinion of me. You really think I'm the type of man who steals from women?" Who would dare hold an opinion against you? A tsunami of cyberbullying was already waving at me from the near future. My manager’s furious shrieks practically echoed in the sky. I strapped the bag onto my back. "Not at all, Mr. Vance! Don't treat me like a woman. Consider me your bro. Once I find the exit and snatch that prize money, I’ll swear blood brotherhood with you."Stepping into the wild jungle, massive, ancient trees blocked out the sun. The surroundings looked practically identical in every direction, completely disorienting. Julian stood before a massive trunk, carefully trying to decipher the terrain. Seeing this, I nimbly scrambled up the tallest tree in sight like an agile squirrel. Scanning the canopy, I mapped out a rough route that dodged the worst hazards. [Hold up, who knew this girl had ninja skills?] [What the hell, is she a monkey reincarnated? That innocent sweetheart image really held her back. No wonder she came on this show—she's here to unleash her inner beast?!] Ignoring Julian's utterly stunned expression, I brushed the bark dust off my clothes. "Follow me, Mr. Vance. Stick with me, and I guarantee you'll starve nine times in three days, but you'll always have water to drink." Even the seasoned movie star had to pause for a good while before finding his words. "Is it too late for me to request a teammate swap?" You think you can jump off a pirate ship once you've boarded? Not a chance. I was going to milk this viral clout for all it was worth. I raised a hand by my ear and waved it forward boldly. "Keep up, Mr. Vance! We have to beat every other team! I’m going to make my manager eat her words!" What else could Julian do? Resigned to his fate, he followed. The clues left by the crew were bright red ribbons—bold and striking. In a sea of green, anyone with working eyes could spot them, barring those who were practically blind. I snatched one dangling from a low branch. It only had a single word scribbled on it: "East." Without a doubt, east was the way. Without missing a beat, Julian pivoted toward the right. After a couple of steps, he looked back over his shoulder, almost as if he were terrified I’d stay behind and wreak havoc on the local ecosystem. "What are you standing there for? East is this way. Let's go." As expected of an A-lister—a man of hidden depths, capable of navigating a dense, low-visibility jungle without breaking a sweat. I strode after him, grinning like an idiot. Catching sight of my goofy expression, Julian frowned in confusion. "Did you find extra supplies behind my back? What are you so giddy about?" "Do I look like that kind of person to you?" I shot back with righteous indignation, my fists clenched rock-hard. [By the looks of it, one punch from our former sweetheart could send our boy straight to the afterlife. Being on her team isn't hard work—it's hard labor.] [Watch your mouth! Our Felicity is just a delicate girl. Julian is over six feet tall, he could easily hang her from a branch.] [Guys, stop fighting! Teamwork makes the dream work. Honestly, the disgraced sweetheart and the brooding movie star look amazing together. I'm shipping them already.] [Shipping random celebrities will only bring you pain, my friend.] Julian let out a low chuckle. "Honestly? You look exactly like that kind of person." Ha. Ha. Ha. A wide river cut across our path. I grabbed a hefty rock from the shore and hurled it straight into the center of the water. The rock was huge, sending up a massive splash. Moments later, an alligator lurking at the muddy bottom slowly broke the surface. As for me, the rock-thrower, I had already dragged Julian behind the thickest trunk nearby. Hiding one person behind a tree was easy; squeezing in a six-foot-two grown man made things cramped. We were pressed flush against each other. When I turned my head, I bumped right into Julian's chest. Solid as a boulder, he didn't budge an inch, his dark eyes gazing down at me. He was blessed with devastatingly alluring eyes—the kind that looked deeply in love even when staring at a stray dog. Catching his gaze so suddenly gave me an electric jolt. Seeing no human meat on the bank, the gator floated lazily on the water's surface, barely bothering to keep its eyes open. Julian had sharp eyes. "Four o'clock. On top of that gator's head. There's a ribbon." [Is the production crew insane? Playing this rough? Didn't they promise guaranteed safety?] [To the commenter above: they don't have to get that specific clue, they can just take a detour!]Perhaps fueled by some twisted mutual wavelength, I slipped off my backpack and cracked my knuckles. "Giving up is not an option. Look at your pedigree, Julian! Every clue we cross paths with belongs to us!!!" Julian grabbed my arm instantly, trying to hold me back. "If you want to get yourself killed, fine, but do you have to drag me down with you?" What kind of slander was that? I patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Come on, bro, why so distant?" Small talk over, I took a running sprint and launched myself straight toward the water. An alligator, spotting a free delivery meal arriving at its doorstep, opened its cavernous, tooth-filled maw. Without hesitation, I slammed one foot directly onto its scaly snout, kicked its jaws shut with sheer brute force, and used the momentum to vault toward the next reptile. I literally parkoured across the gators' snouts straight to my four o'clock target, bent down to snatch the red ribbon, and dashed back to dry land. The entire stunt took less than two minutes. [Pulling off something that badass—are you tired of living?!] [Holy crap, 6666666! Felicity, what other secret talents are you hiding from us?!] [Who needs men when our girl is this terrifyingly cool?] The red ribbon read: "Banana Leaves." Banana leaves to the east. Before I could climb another tree, Julian beat me to it, scaling the trunk in smooth, fluid motions. He scanned the horizon and led the way along the riverbank. When we successfully reached the grove of wild banana trees, I noticed fresh boot prints in the mud. I slowed my pace and crept closer. Faint voices floated through the foliage. "Should we give that damn scientist something to eat?" "No need. A grown man can survive on one meal a day. Feed him too much and he'll have the energy to run. Finding someone in this damn jungle isn't easy." "Once we wrap up this job, we can retire in the shadows." Julian peeked through the leaves, his brow furrowing deeply. "That scientist is Dr. Wendell. He went missing a while back. I didn't expect him to be kidnapped out here. Look closely—one of those mercenaries is a foreigner." Damn, the movie star really was well-informed. I’d deduced as much from their gear. They looked like high-level corporate spies or mercenaries. "Mr. Vance, if I take these guys down, do you think I can boost my industry status?" Ten years of playing the delicate flower, totally unnoticed; one day of smut, and everyone knows my name. [Forget boosting your status, you'd shoot straight to the A-list!!] [If you actually take down foreign mercenaries, Felicity, you're going to be a national hero! I just hope you can handle that level of insane fame!] My hands itched with anticipation. "Gotta risk it for the biscuit." It wasn't that Julian was hiding behind a woman; my physical speed was simply inhuman, and he couldn't stop me in time. Left with no choice, he had to trail behind me, practically sweating bullets. "Retire in the shadows? How about I give you an inmate number instead?!" At the sound of my voice, the kidnappers reacted instantly, reaching for their weapons. I darted in, dislocated one guy’s shoulder with a sharp twist, and executed a textbook hip throw that sent him crashing into his buddies like a bowling ball, knocking them down in a tangled heap. There were three kidnappers in total. I kicked their weapons out of reach, delivered a swift, punishing kick to each of their ribs, and cockily flipped them off. "I've never seen such pathetic amateurs. Kidnapping our top research scientists? Who gave you the audacity? Without my permission, nobody feeds these clowns a single crumb!!" The overhead drones captured the entire takedown. The authorities watching the live feed immediately contacted me via the emergency comms. After safely handing Dr. Wendell over to the rescue squad, the reality show was forced to shut down early. In recognition of my outstanding contribution, the grand prize money was wired directly into my personal bank account. #FelicityAPredatorInDisguise # #TheFakeSweetheartRevealed # Oh baby. I finally claimed the number one trending spot all on my own! I immediately fired off an Ins post: Certified badass. Please feel free to replay the footage on loop!!