The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1857

"Look, Sean, I should have called you by ‘Mr. Sean’. I'm so sorry," Ophelia quickly corrected herself, her cheeks coloring with embarrassment.

Hans shot his younger brother a warning glance that said, "That's Bella's friend. And you're scaring her! What's with the attitude?"

"That was your fault, Sean. She was just trying to show you some respect, calling you ‘Brother Sean’ because of Bella. And here you are, freaking her out. Apologize to Bella's friend!" Clark couldn't stand it any longer, emphasizing that Ophelia was “Bella's friend”!

That's MY sister's friend, so you’d better be nice!

There was also pressure from Hans's demanding stare: “Apologize.”

It was as if they all thought Sean was out of line. If it was that Sean didn't want to help Ms. Almond or he found it bothersome, he could've just said so. There was no need to be so cold that he wouldn't even let Ophelia call him by “Brother Sean.”

Feeling utterly wronged, Sean didn't know how to explain that he didn't want to be brothers and sisters with Ophelia, and now he had caused a huge misunderstanding. Ophelia, too intimidated to even glance at him, picked up her cup and took a few sips of coffee to distract herself. Poor Sean was at a loss for words.

Arabella, however, read the situation and offered a gentle smile. "Didn't Hans just suggest that Sean get to know my friend, make a new buddy? What Sean means is, since they're friends, there's no need for formalities like brother and sister, just first names are fine, right, Sean?"

"Yeah, exactly, that's what I meant! My sis gets me!" Sean was eager to clear up any misunderstanding, his tone shifting to a more careful and almost timid inflection.

Ophelia hadn't expected Arabella to come up with such a smooth explanation on Sean's behalf.

What Arabella didn't know was that Sean had been putting up roadblocks on her projects behind the scenes.

If she found out, she'd definitely think Sean disliked Ophelia personally!

But for Arabella's sake, Ophelia maintained a polite facade, "I guess I misunderstood you, Sean. But since you're Bella's brother, it feels rude to just call you by your first name. I'll stick with ‘Brother Sean,’ if that's fine."

"That’s not fine!"

That formality just made things worse, more distant, more alienating!