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.

to hold

tough facade she

Everyone had left for real.

to L City

was going to spend some time and have a few nice meals with them. But none of that ever happened. What was waiting for

went out for some groceries. She wanted to surprise them and didn't call. But when it was getting dark, and

neighbors but never really got an answer. All of them

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.

tried to avoid talking about them at first. She tried to ask

told her that her grandparents had passed

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

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

hearing the story, she didn't believe them.

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

she would not agree to let

days she mourned until she decided to return

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

for her to accept that

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

him, surprised, "Why are you

red and swollen, but

you last night? No matter what happens, I

with a

she should trust

told her she would not be alone.

over

know what to

failed marriage had left a huge traumatic mark on her. She

the idea

was happy when he was

sure about what she was feeling, but