A Love Trap

"Ellie! Stop... talking... like that!" he spluttered.

Francis might have been with a lot of women, but he took nobody seriously. Those women knew it and they didn't mind.

But Ellie was different. He never thought of treating her badly.

He could not fathom why she had to hurt herself like that.

He was really upset. Not because of what she thought about him, but because of how she saw herself.

The worst part of it was that she called him "Mr. Francis." The fact that she called him "Mr. Francis"

hurt him the most.

Ellie closed her eyes and pursed her lips. She didn't say anything.

Francis grabbed both her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Ellie, please tell me you're joking." He looked at her, his eyes firm with pleading and frustration. "Please tell me you didn't mean any of what you just said."

Francis' eyes spoke sincerely to Ellie.

She couldn't take another look at him. She needed strength to say what she was about to say, "No, I meant everything I said."

Francis could see right through her lie. He shouted, "Look me in the eye and tell me again! You didn't mean any of that, right?"

Ellie looked into his eyes, her visage as fierce as the crunching in her chest. "I meant it. I meant every bit of it. You may leave Mr. Francis."

Ellie pointed to the door gesturing for Francis to leave.

"Fine!" Francis clenched his jaw and gnashed his teeth in anger.

He let go of her and turned around to leave.

The thud that came from the shutting door made Ellie flinch. As the door closed, the room fell into silence.

Ellie could only look at the direction where he had gone.

arms to hold herself. Her

the tough facade she

was all by herself now. Everyone had left for real. She was really all

to L City was to visit her grandparents.

a few nice meals with them. But none of

She wanted to surprise them and didn't call.

but never really got an answer. All of them just looked at her

at her. However, she started to panic after she didn't hear anything about her grandparents for the whole day. She went to the neighbors and

them at first. She tried to ask

one of the neighbors told her that her grandparents had passed away and it had already been

them all of a sudden. With their age, it took their

seemed to know how little time they had before they passed. They told the neighbors not to tell Ellie. They said that they might fight it through and they didn't want to make

story, she

J City. She didn't

she had known, she would not agree to let them leave.

days she mourned until she decided to return

her sitting on the bed, holding

hard for her to accept that they had spent a night together.

something first." He places a breakfast platter on the

at him, surprised, "Why

Her eyes were red and swollen, but she

what I told you last night? No matter what happens, I will be with

looked at him with a blank expression.

she should trust

when he told her she would

over Ellie.

didn't know what to do.

mark on

was different. She didn't hate the idea of getting close to

it, but she was happy when he was around.

him, she felt lost. She wasn't sure about what she was feeling, but she knew that she