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 herself. Her tears

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

left for real. She was really

to L City

some time and have a few nice meals with them. But none of that ever happened. What was waiting for her was the news she never

was home when she arrived. She assumed that they went out for some groceries. She wanted to surprise them and didn't call. But when it was getting dark, and they were still not home, she figured

All of them just looked at her with sad

she didn't hear anything about her grandparents for the whole

them at first. She tried to ask

grandparents had passed away and it

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

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

she didn't believe

J City. She didn't

known, she would not agree to let

she mourned until she

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

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

places a breakfast platter on the

up at him, surprised, "Why are

red and swollen, but she couldn't keep her tears

what I told you last night?

at him with a blank

she should trust him.

he told her she would not be alone.

took over

what to do.

traumatic mark on her. She had stayed away from men for

hate the

it, but she was happy when he

what