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.

herself with her shaking arms to

she had shown

Everyone had left for real.

L City was to visit her

spend some time and have a few nice meals with them. But none

when she arrived. She assumed that they went out for some groceries. She wanted to surprise them and didn't call. But when

All of them just looked at her with sad faces and

panic after she didn't hear anything about her grandparents for the whole day. She went to the

them at first. She tried

that her grandparents had

all of a sudden.

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

the story, she didn't

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

had known, she would not agree to let

days she mourned until she decided to

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

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

He places a breakfast platter on the table

at him, surprised, "Why are

and swollen, but she couldn't keep her tears

"Did you forget what I told you last night? No matter what happens, I will

him with

know if she should trust

when he told her she would

took over

what to

traumatic mark on her.

Francis was different. She didn't hate the idea of getting

she was

about what she was