Estella opened her mouth wide as if she was shocked by this sudden revelation as she suddenly bent over to hold Flare in her arms and asked him, "What? Flare!! Is it true, dear? You hate me? I thought that I was your favorite aunt all this time."
Flare immediately turned his head away from her as the answer to her question.
Isn't it very obvious that he hated her? It is just that his mother doesn't want to hurt her best friend's feelings and put everything softly saying that he was just scared of her.
If it was him, he would directly say on her face that he hates her and wanted her to stay a few feet- no, a few cities away from him if possible.
Estella tried her best to not chuckle out loud when she looked at his reaction.