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.

with her shaking arms to hold herself. Her

the tough facade she had shown him earlier

now. Everyone had left for real. She was really

went to L City was to visit her grandparents.

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

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

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

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

them at first. She

that her grandparents had passed away and

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

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 make her worry. They also told them that if the sickness

the story, she didn't believe them.

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

not agree

until she decided to

Francis had returned to Ellie's house and saw her sitting on the

was so hard for her

He places a breakfast platter on the table in front

up at him, surprised, "Why are

swollen, but she couldn't keep her tears from falling

told you last night?

him with a blank expression.

she should trust him.

really tempting when he told her she

took over

what to

parents' failed marriage had left a huge traumatic mark on her. She had stayed away from men for many

hate the idea of getting close

just realized it, but she was happy

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