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

facade she had shown him earlier

now. Everyone had left for

why Ellie went to L City was to visit

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

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

All of them just looked at her with sad faces

the beginning, she didn't care 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. She went to the neighbors and

at

told her that her grandparents had passed away and it

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

they seemed to know how little time 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

story, she didn't believe

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

not agree to let them

she mourned until she decided to return

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

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

a breakfast platter on the table in front of

surprised, "Why

red and swollen, but

her, Francis sighed, "Did you forget what I told you last night? No

him with a blank expression.

didn't know if she should trust him.

he told her she would not be

over

didn't know what to

marriage had left a huge traumatic mark on her. She

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

just realized it, but she was happy when he was

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