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

tough facade she had shown him earlier had

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

reason why Ellie went to L City was

them. But none of

them and didn't call. But when it was getting dark, and they were still

of them just looked at her with

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

about them at first. She tried to ask again.

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

sickness caught on them all of a sudden.

passed. They told the neighbors 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 the sickness got worse,

hearing the story, she didn't believe

their last visit to J City. She didn't

not agree to let them leave.

she decided

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

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

eat something first." He places a breakfast platter on the table

him, surprised, "Why are you still

Her eyes were red and swollen, but she couldn't keep her tears from

I told you last night? No matter what happens, I

at him with a blank

didn't know if she should

told her she

took over Ellie.

didn't know what to

huge traumatic mark on her. She

different. She didn't hate the idea

but she was happy when he was around.

couldn't see him, she felt lost. She wasn't sure about what she