Hey, don't drag me into your business. I am quite happy that she is not nagging me for the moment!" To be honest, Nathan was still traumatized about last night. Her constant badgering about their son made his ears hurt! He wondered how a middle-aged woman could be this energetic, talking about the same old thing over and over again. He was bored to tears by her nagging. By the end of the day, she sounded like a broken record. Nathan shook his head slowly, a bittersweet smile on his face.
"Dad, how can you ignore my feelings? The moment my brother came home, you started to favor him over me. I feel so neglected by you." Claire pouted and grabbed her father's arms. Like a little girl, she pulled his sleeves and shook his arms constantly.
"All right, honey, stop bugging your father now. He needs to attend to some business later on. He is in a hurry. You shouldn't waste his time and energy like that. And now that you are up, why don't you join us to the dining room for some breakfast? What about your Miss Ye? Has she gotten up yet?" Shannon walked up to the foot of the staircase and looked behind Claire. She was not sure if her daughter's guest would join them for breakfast.
"What are you on about? Mom, she is my guest, okay? Why can't you be nicer to her? She is afraid of you already. This is not a nice way to treat my friend!" Claire raised her voice and glared at her mother unpleasantly. She was quite mad at Shannon for her hostile attitude toward Louisa. It seemed to her that her mother clearly held something against her friend, since she tried to avoid Louisa on most occasions.
"What are you talking about? Did she actually say to you that I have been harsh to her? I know very well that she is your guest. That is why I have been polite to her all this time. What is so wrong with my attitude?" Shannon said, giving her daughter a stern look. It was true that she didn't like Louisa at all. However, she maintained her cool and accommodated her in the house. Shannon treated her in a decent manner because she was a smart woman who knew how to deal with 'unwanted guests' when she had to.
"I am not blaming you for your attitude here. I am not even blaming you for your coldness toward Louisa. As far as I am concerned, she is a sweet girl. I hope you can call her by her first name rather than this distant 'Miss Ye'. It makes me so mad," Claire snapped at her mother and shook her head in disapproval. She couldn't describe how she felt about it in her heart, but one thing she knew for sure was that her mother did not treat Louisa the way she deserved to be treated. In her opinion, her mother should welcome Louisa with open arms and greet her with big smiles. That was the correct way to treat her friends! She felt so ridiculous. Claire didn't know how Louisa saw the whole situation. But for Claire, her mother's aloof attitude was definitely awkward and unnecessary.
"You silly girl, what do you want from me? Why do I have to address her by her first name now? If you want to call her Louisa, then go ahead. I am not stopping you from doing that. However, I have my own preferences!" Ignoring her daughter's suggestion, Shannon walked away and gave her the cold shoulder. She didn't feel like calling Louisa by her first name. From her observation, Louisa was not likable at all. On the contrary, she had the tendency to manipulate others and benefit from them. She had her own selfish plans and schemes. Faced with such a calculating girl, Shannon found it really hard to cultivate any intimacy with her.
"Mom, you are deliberately irritating me now. Why do you have to be so difficult? Why can't you just refer to her as Louisa?! 'Miss Ye'? You talk about her as if she is so old!" Claire stomped her feet and shouted at her mother's back. She was stunned by her mother's words. How could she be so unreasonable? Was it really necessary to be this indifferent to Louisa? What was the point?
"Well, what do you prefer then? How about you give me a good suggestion once and for all? I am all ears. Just tell me how you would like me to address her?" Shannon was known to be well received among people. After all, she was a refined lady with great manners. Normally, she did not pick bones with her daughter. However, to Nathan's surprise, she sounded very serious and quite frankly, even intimidating. He wondered why his graceful wife held such a grudge against Louisa and went so all out over a stupid name. He, on the other hand, liked Louisa dearly. She was his old comrade's beloved little girl. To some extent, he even saw her as his very own daughter.
"I think you should call her Louisa just like Dad does. Why not call her Louisa? Mom please, for the sake of me, you should just treat her better. I have noticed you giving her stern looks on several occasions. I myself am used to all that coming from you but I am sure Louisa feels uneasy around you. She is really close to me. Please, for the sake of me, just try your best to accept her!" Claire wrung her hands together, earnestly gazing at her mother. She really hoped that Shannon would hold her friend as dearly as Claire herself did.
"I am not that close to her, to be honest with you. I find it quite odd to call her that. After all, I don't know her so well." Shannon shook her head and sighed helplessly. She made it quite clear that she refused to build an intimate relationship with this Louisa. She would rather refer to her as Miss Ye. Deep down, she wanted Louisa to know her stance: she didn't like her at all. Shannon only tolerated her because of this persistence from her daughter. Certain boundaries needed to be put up clearly. Shannon personally didn't want her in the house at all. Hopefully, Louisa would get her message and back off.
"Why can't you just call her by her first name? For crying out loud, you call Leena by her first name even though you just got to know her a few days ago! Why do you treat them so differently? What is wrong with you?" At this stage, Claire was genuinely cross at her mother. In her opinion, Shannon was unbelievably stubborn. Claire got up so early so she could have a good chat with her regarding the way she treated her friend. However, things just turned out nasty. Her mother was being unreasonable and hard to please. Claire really hated to communicate with people who were this headstrong. All her words were in vain. It seemed like her mother had made up her mind already.