Seventy One

~ Isabella's POV

After a few more minutes of chatting and gossiping, Clara and I were called back into the kitchen. The palace's butler had come to the kitchen, looking nervous and agitated. He wanted us to prepare a feast that would make the Alpha relax and less in a bad mood according to his order. So we needed all hands on deck to prepare a huge and sumptuous dinner for Damien.

Clara gave me a concerned look that made me look away uncomfortably. I guessed then that she had also heard about how I was being treated by Damien.

As the maid that had come to call us left, Clara turned to me.

"Are you okay?" She asked me a soft, gentle tone in my voice.

Despite my affection for Clara, the way she spoke to me and asked me that question irritated me. It sounded as though she pitied me and I hated every bit of it and of that moment. I hated being pitied. I hated that nearly every pack member who lived in the palace now saw me as the Alpha's poor second wife, who was nothing but a punching ba