The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella and Romeo) novel Chapter 1809

What's the deal with Timothy?

Timothy was Romeo's buddy, and when he caught a glimpse of Sean chasing down Bella, he figured he'd lend a hand to his friend – nothing out of the ordinary there.

At the time, Timothy was clueless about Bella's true identity; he had no idea she was the precious daughter of the Collins clan, and little did he know that she was Sean's own sister. So, he didn't step in to stop the siblings from their disastrous misunderstanding.

And boy, did that misunderstanding blow up.

Now he wished he could just vanish into thin air.

If he was cocky before, he was now the epitome of awkwardness.

"It was my bad for stirring up a mess without getting the facts straight. My apologies," Sean admitted, wincing a bit from the embarrassment.

"I purposely kept it from you, wanted to surprise you," Arabella said with a sly grin.

There was no surprise, just a whole lot of shock.

Sean hadn't expected his sister to pair up with Romeo so quickly, and it left him feeling a bit hollow.

"This movie's a bust. Shall we get out of here?"

Arabella had barely taken a step forward when Sean and Romeo positioned themselves on either side of her. Steward felt like a third wheel but scrambled to keep pace with Sean.

Exiting the theater on the third floor of the mall, they were surrounded by high-end boutiques.

"Bella, how about I treat you to a little shopping spree?" Sean suggested, eyeing a jewelry store.