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.

wrapped herself with her shaking arms to hold

all the tough facade she had shown him earlier had started crumbling.

Everyone had left for real. She

to L City was to

a few nice meals with them. But none of that ever happened. What was waiting for her was the news she

one was home when she arrived. She assumed that they went out for some groceries. She wanted to surprise them and didn't call.

them just looked at her with sad faces and tried to

the way they looked at her. However, she started to panic after she didn't hear anything about her grandparents

about them at first. She

of the neighbors told her that her grandparents had

a cold in their lives, but this sickness caught on them all of a sudden. With their age, it took their lives very quickly. No one had expected its coming.

not to tell Ellie. They said that they might fight it through and they didn't want to make her worry. They also told them that if

story, she didn't

visit to J City. She didn't believe that any sickness could just take their

would not agree to

mourned until she decided

and saw her sitting on the bed, holding her knees, her

really bad. He wondered why it was so hard for

something first." He places a breakfast platter

at him, surprised,

and swollen, but she couldn't keep her tears

told you last

at him with a blank expression.

didn't know if she should trust him.

when he told her she would not be alone.

over

didn't know what to do.

parents' failed marriage had left a huge traumatic mark on her. She had stayed away from men for many

She didn't hate the idea of getting

but she was happy when he

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