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.

shaking arms to hold

as if all the tough facade she

now. Everyone had left for real. She was really all alone.

why Ellie went to L City was to visit

was going to spend some time and have a few nice meals with them. But none of

surprise them and didn't call. But when it was

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

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

them at first. She tried to ask again.

told her that her grandparents had passed away and it had

had hardly caught a cold in their lives, but this sickness caught on them all of a sudden. With their

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 believe them.

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

would not agree to let them

she decided to return

had returned to Ellie's house and saw her sitting on the bed, holding her knees, her head buried between them and crying out loud.

He wondered why it was so hard for

let's eat something first." He places a breakfast platter on the

up at him, surprised, "Why are you still

were red and swollen, but she couldn't keep

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

with a blank expression.

she should

he told her she would not

over

didn't know what to

on her. She

Francis was different. She didn't hate the idea of

she was happy when he was

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