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 herself. Her tears

felt as if all the tough facade she

had left for real. She

went to L City was to visit her grandparents.

nice meals with them. But none of that ever happened. What was waiting for her

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 that something could be wrong.

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

However, she started to panic after she didn't hear anything about her grandparents for

tried to avoid talking about them at first.

that her grandparents had

this sickness caught on them all of a sudden.

had before they passed. They told the neighbors not to tell Ellie. They said that they might fight

story, she

were fine during their last visit to J City. She didn't believe that any sickness could just take their

had known, she would not agree to let

until she decided

on the bed, holding her knees, her head buried between them and crying out loud.

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

places a breakfast platter on the

up at him, surprised, "Why are you still

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

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

at him with a

didn't know if she should trust him.

tempting when he told her she would not be

took over Ellie.

what

mark on her. She had stayed

She didn't hate the idea of

just realized it, but she was happy when he was

felt lost. She wasn't sure about what she was