The Extra Ingredient

At the pantry, Lia swiftly glanced at the pile of snacks and requested drinks she had prepared for everyone in Selina's office. Then, she looked to the side where a "click" sound just rung to her ears. The milk in the electric kettle finished boiling.

She gave the rose patterned teapot on the counter a long stare before spooning a specific amount of milk tea powder into the teapot. Once she was done, she made sure nobody was present near the blind spot she was currently standing at.

Taking out the box she received from Master Liam, she carefully lifted the lid open. As if she was hesitating the following step, she stood still and continued staring at the black pill sitting in the middle of a velvet colored cushion.

"What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for someone to come and use the excuse of someone's presence to opt out of the plan? I'm telling you, I am watching you. Master Liam will not let you go if you do such a thing. Go on, hurry up and add the pill to the teapot. I am watching you." One of the shadow guards who were in charge of observing her spoke through the Apple airpod that was in Lia's right ear.

Lia took the pill out of the box and stretched out her other arm to grab the teapot. Raising a forced smile on her face, Lia picked up the teapot and faced the hallway. In front of the nature painting, she dropped the black pill into the teapot. Behind that painting, a micro camera was installed to keep track of Lia's mission.

"Happy? Satisfied?" Lia slowly rotated the hand she used to hold the pill to prove that the pill was added to as an extra ingredient to the milk tea powder.

"Now, put that teapot down and shake your sleeves. I need to make sure you're not hiding the real pill or trying to trick me using angles. Who knows how capable you are?" The shadow guard obviously saw where the pill went. However, his previous experiences with Lia told him she was a tricky woman.

To prevent her from playing any tricks during the last two weeks, they held onto the pill and had only given it to Lia right before her shift began in the morning. Before leaving the headquarters and letting her out of the car, a female shadow guard searched her body thoroguhly to ensure she didn't have anything but her phone with her.

Ever since she had gone to the office, Lia had been under their watch with the micro cameras they secretly installed.

In order to guarantee that the pill was added properly to the drink, the shadow guard needed Lia to follow his instructions. Finally, after a two minutes jumping and random hopping test, the shadow guard's suspicion faded.

"Alright. Hurry and make the milk tea. We don't have all day." His words resulted in Lia's annoyed expression with her eyes rolling to the back of her head.

"If you didn't blab nonsense, I would have brought everything inside the room already." Lia complained as she carried the teapot in one hand and filled it up with milk. Soon, a caramel brown hue appeared in the teapot.

Taking a clean spoon, she quickly melted the milk tea powder by stirring it in the teapot. Once she was sure it was ready, she took out the candle warmer from the cabinet and lighted a candle to put in the middle of it. Then, she stuffed all the snacks into a bag, held the teapot in one hand and the teapot warmer in another.

Leisurely, she walked back to Selina's office and interrupted their conversation.

"Sorry for the long wait, I was making Selina's milk tea, which took longer to make. Here are the snacks. The beverages that you all wanted are in the bag as well. I remember your preferences were the same as last time, so the pantry had the supplies in stock." Lia carefully placed the teapot warmer onto the table's surface followed by the teapot on top of it.

Once everything was set up, she passed the drinks and snacks to everyone else.

"Lia, take a break from work. There isn't much to do anyway. Grab a chair and sit here. You can sit on the couch if you feel more comfortable too. Do you want to grab a drink or eat some snacks? I remember you like these snacks as well." Selina took a bag of peanut butter cups and opened it.

With a few peanut butter cups in her hands, she offered it to Lia.

"It's okay. I have water at my desk. I am not hungry right now, but thanks for offering." Lia thanked Selina and quickly went to grab her water. Since Selina had her own mug that she liked to use to drink her milk teas, Lia didn't have to prepare a cup for her.

"Oh! Then hurry and get your water. When you come back, we need your opinion on some baby clothes designs!" Selina said as she released the peanut butter cups onto the table.

"Don't head out yet. Pour the milk tea for her." The shadow guard demanded in a dominant tone that made Lia want to slap him. Even without his reminder, Lia would have poured it for selina regardless.

"Let me pour the milk tea for you before I grab my water. I forgot to swirl it a bit earlier." Lia used a convenient excuse to pick up the teapot. In front of everyone's eyes, she slowly swirled the item in her hand and took a peek inside of it to make sure the milk tea was ready. With one hand under the teapot and the other holding the ear of the teapot, she angled it just enough for the milk tea to pour into Selina's cup without wasting a single drop of it.

"Thank you! It smells so good!" Selina brought the mug close to her nose and gave it a few sniffs. The fresh aroma instantly piqued her taste buds.

"Careful, it is still hot since the milk was recently boiled." Lia reminded Selina as soon as she saw the edge of the mug touching Selina's lips.

"Oh, right. Hahaha. I totally forgot how thick my mug is. My mug may be warm, but the content is hot. Whoops. Then, I'll let it sit around for a few minutes. Time to snack!" Selina took one of the peanut butter cups from earlier and started snacking on it.

"Mm." Lia replied. She appeared calm on the surface, but only she knew how tight her chest felt at the moment.

After Lia walked a certain distance from the group, Celinda whispered. "Does anyone else find Lia a bit off today? Is it the weather? It is kind of gloomy today."

Selina smiled. "She just came back from a short break. It must be hard to adjust back to work life after having a nice break." Although she wished to share Lia's pregnancy news with her favorite girls, she had to keep her promise to Lia. After all, this was Lia's privacy. Therefore, she did not disclose why Lia would seem a bit off.

"Ah, I see! I would feel so tired of work if I came back from vacation too. Aiya, Selina, you know we can't drink milk tea under the doctor's suggestion for our diets. You're obviously tempting us to break the rules! I can smell your milk tea from here!" Kyla looked as if drool would slide out of her mouth with her eyes fixated on the milk tea in Selina's mug.

"Hoho! My lovely pregnant ladies, to help you guys out like the kind person I am, I shall chug this cup of milk tea. I just tasted a small spoonful of it, and it is at a drinkable temperature. Hehe. I will get this milk tea out of your sight." Selina brought the mug to her lips once again and emptied the content as if it was water.

"Ah! So good!" Selina raised her mug into the air like those who enjoy finishing a beer and raising the can in a victorious move.

"I think she is drunk on milk tea. Someone should capture a photo of this and use it as her contact photo from now on. Hahahahhaha!" Kyla suggested and shook her head after seeing Selina's childish expression.

Meanwhile, Lia watched with a grim expression on her face. Her fingers wrapped tightly around her own mug as she saw how Selina had chugged the whole cup of milk tea down her throat. 'Sorry.'