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 tears

all the tough facade she had shown

left for real. She was really all

went to L City

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

when she arrived. She assumed that they went 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

them

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 avoid talking about them at first. She tried to ask again.

the neighbors told her that her grandparents had passed away and it had

lives, but this sickness caught on them all of a sudden.

they might fight it through and they didn't want to make her worry. They also told them that if the sickness

hearing the story, she

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

not agree to let

days she mourned until she

and saw her sitting on the bed, holding

was so hard for her to

breakfast platter on the table in

at him, surprised, "Why

and swollen, but

I told you last night? No matter what

looked at him with a blank

didn't know if she should

sounded really tempting when he told

took over Ellie.

know what to do.

huge traumatic mark on her. She had stayed away

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

was happy when

what she was feeling, but she knew that