Chapter 1

Lila stood at the kitchen island with the small amber bottle in her hand and the morning light coming in flat across the counter. The label was plain black text on white: *Lumina Glow. Confidence and fertility support. Adults 25 and older only.* She’d ordered it three nights ago after another evening of lying next to Mark and feeling the space between them like a closed door. Thirty-nine. Two grown kids. A body that still worked but no longer felt like it belonged to her.

She unscrewed the dropper, measured the first dose, and held it under her tongue until the citrus-warm taste faded. Nothing dramatic happened. She rinsed the glass, started the coffee, and went upstairs to shower.

Under the water she noticed it first as temperature. The spray felt sharper on her chest and lower belly, almost like the skin there had thinned. When she stepped out and wiped the mirror clear, her reflection looked slightly tighter across the collarbones. Her breasts sat a fraction higher. She cupped them out of habit and felt the weight shift differently in her palms. Sensitive. She let go and dried off without thinking about it again.

By mid-morning the warmth had settled low in her abdomen and stayed there. Not cramps. A steady, low pulse that made her cross and uncross her legs while she answered emails at the dining table. Every time her thighs pressed together a small, bright flare moved through her. She ignored it until lunch, when she stood up and felt the definite wetness between her legs. Not the usual light slickness. Thicker. She went to the bathroom, locked the door, and checked. Her underwear was soaked through at the center. The fabric clung. When she peeled it away, a clear strand stretched and broke.

She cleaned up, changed, and told herself it was the new supplement interacting with her cycle. She took the second dose at six while Mark was still at the office. By eight the heat had deepened into a constant, low ache. Her nipples stayed stiff against her bra no matter how she adjusted it. When she finally undressed for bed she caught the light on her skin and stopped. Her breasts were visibly fuller, the lower curves heavier, the skin faintly flushed. She ran a fingertip across one nipple and the sensation shot straight down between her legs so hard her breath caught.