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.

her shaking arms to hold herself. Her

tough facade she had shown him earlier had

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

why Ellie went to L City was to

them. But none of that ever happened. What was waiting for her was the news she never expected.

and didn't call. But when it was getting dark, and

neighbors but never really got an answer. All of them just looked at her with sad faces and tried

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

tried to avoid talking about them at first. She

one of the neighbors told her that her grandparents had

caught on them all of a sudden.

tell Ellie. They said that they might fight

the story, she

City. She didn't believe that any sickness could just take their lives.

she had known, she would not agree

she

her sitting on the bed, holding her knees, her

for her to accept that they had spent a

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

looked up at him, surprised,

miserable. Her eyes were red and swollen, but she couldn't

you forget what I told you last night? No matter what happens, I will be with you. You are not

at him with a blank

if she

tempting when he told

over Ellie.

what to

on her. She had stayed away from men for many

She didn't hate the idea of getting

but she was

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