I don’t miss their curious glances, particularly at my very obvious pregnancy. I’m sure this news will have tongues wagging later, but they don’t dare say a word to Judge about it now. Of course, when we greet Giordana, Dulce, and Vivien, they don’t bother to hide their disdain. It doesn’t escape my notice that Vivien is wearing black as if she’s in mourning, her eyes moving over me sharply.

When she leans in for an air kiss and a frigid hug, her biting words penetrate my ear. “Well, I guess that’s one way to secure a husband.”

By the tightening of Judge’s hand on mine, it’s clear he’s heard the remark too, and he doesn’t miss a beat.

“You are mistaken, Vivien.” His eyes move over me with undiluted admiration. “It was me who needed to secure Mercedes’s hand. There’s no other woman who can compare.”

Vivien looks as if she’s been slapped by Judge’s remark, and it pleases me far more than it should when we leave her standing there, mouth agape as we walk away.

“I think I’ve had enough congratulations for the moment,” Judge says.

I nod in agreement as he leads me toward the door, pausing for a moment to look at me.

“Are you sure you want to do this tonight?”

He’s referring to the mark. The tattoo he will ink into my skin himself. We discussed it briefly, along with a phone call to an IVI doctor. It’s not exactly common to give the mark to pregnant wives, but it has been done before, and with the proper precautions and sterile equipment, we have the green light to proceed if we wish.

“I want it now,” I assure him. “More than anything.”

His eyes flare with that possession again, and he nods. “Okay, little monster. As you wish.”

He directs me to the church doors that lead into the IVI courtyard. I already know from experience that another gathering will witness him giving me the mark. Yet it will be an intimate moment. His hands on my body. His artistry on my skin. His claim on me for all of eternity.

A frisson of excitement moves through me as an attendant opens the doors for us to step outside. My head is in the clouds, the starry sky above twinkling just for us. There isn’t a single moment of tonight I would change. It feels magical. It feels like I’m on a roller coaster going a million miles an hour, the wind in my hair, the thrill of the destination ahead on my mind. Everything is perfect. It’s beautiful. It’s amazing.

Until it isn’t.