Maggie returned to the Evergreen Fertility Institute exactly one week later, her stomach fluttering with a mixture of anxiety and cautious hope.
She had spent the past seven days reading and re-reading the consent forms, telling herself that the unusual wording was just medical jargon. The clinic had already started her on a specialized hormone protocol, daily injections that made her breasts feel fuller and her skin more sensitive. She felt different already. More aware of her body.
The same friendly nurse led her down the hallway, but this time she was taken to a private treatment room instead of Dr. Hawthorne’s office.
The room was beautiful and clinical at the same time with soft lighting, a large padded exam chair with stirrups, and various monitors. Dr. Julian Hawthorne was alread
