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.

shaking arms to hold herself. Her

as if all the tough facade she had shown him earlier had

all by herself now. Everyone had left for real. She

why Ellie went to L City was to visit

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

that they went out for some groceries. She wanted to surprise them and didn't

the neighbors but never really got an answer. All of them just looked at her with sad faces and

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

about them at

her grandparents had passed away and it had already been

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

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

she didn't believe them.

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

had known, she would not

she decided to return home.

sitting on the bed, holding her knees, her

so hard for her to accept that they had

let's eat something first." He places a breakfast

surprised, "Why are

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

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

looked at him with

if she

told her she would not be

took over

didn't know what

marriage had left a huge traumatic mark on her.

different. She didn't hate the idea of getting close to

was happy when he

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