Dannah's version of the real reason why Winter died was all too convincing that Xhemin was ready to believe it.

She did believe it.

​​

But only for a moment, because when the taste of the tea she drank touched her mouth, she caught some familiarity that got her insides twitched.

Out of shock, the teacup slipped into her hands and fell on the ground. It broke instantly piece by piece. Darryl with his husbandly protective instinct, immediately grab Xhemin away from the broken cup, afraid that some of its sharp broken pieces will give her skin some cuts.

"Careful milady!" Darryl told as he wrapped her in his arms.

"Xhemin what's wrong?" Ziggy who caught her expression previously knew something was wrong.

"The tea," Although she answered immediately, everyone knew Xhemin was in some kind of daze that locked her attention away. Her mind was occupied with her own confusion as too many pieces of puzzle about Winter's death flashed before her eyes and she was trying so hard to connect and solve them all.

"What is too hot?" Darryl asked although he knew it wasn't the case. He had served it for a few minutes already and so he was sure her cup wasn't boiling hot.

"No, no" Xhemin shook her head and lifted up her two hands to her head as if it hurts so bad. "It's not that Darryl. This tea tastes something, it's a familiar taste and I-

"Oh this tea," Darryl cut off her words as if he already knew what she had to say, "Of course this one is familiar. You had tasted this before in my uncles crib. It was the same kind of tea he served us,"

"No Darryl that's not it" Xhemin finally had gotten all her attention back, "I knew this taste and it's only now that I recognize this. No wonder it tasted so familiar back then when I had tasted this in your uncle's place,"

"This tea is made by Dian," Dannah knew what kind of tea Darryl served and was confused with Xhemin's panic over a cup of tea. However she understood that with all the things she told her right then, Xhemin's emotion might be unstable so she prepared for more of her breakdown. "She had been trying to make her own version of tea ever since I could remember and since you too were friends, she might have let you tasted this before that's why it tastes familiar to you,"

"No you don't understand!" Xhemin's panic was becoming like a frustration but everyone thought she was just having a mental episode brought by stress and so they stretched their patience as they could, "This tea might be the answer!"

Dannah and Darryl only looked at each other more to Xhemin's frustration. Knowing that they won't probably get what she was trying to imply, she turned to Ziggy and confronted him, "Ziggy don't you realize what is it? You know this taste!"

Ziggy's head formed lines but he knew Xhemin meant something and so because his cup was already empty, he refilled it and took another sip. When the liquid went down his throat, he too knew something was off.

"It does, I had tasted this somewhere indeed," Ziggy took another sip and thought about where he tasted it. For a moment he was lost but then some memory popped on him and it caught him off guard, "Wait…" He turned to look at Xhemin in the eye and dug deep to hers, "Is this...is this-"

"Staw serum," Xhemin finally said it to everyone's surprise. "This is a staw serum,"

"Oh yes it is," Ziggy was shocked to know but such realization didn't give him much of a panic than Xhemin had, "Did Dian finally decide to make it a tea? It's soo good honestly, brilliant idea,"

"It was Xhemin's idea to make it a tea.She gave all the rights and proposals to Dr. Cyan. Dian probably found it from Dr. Cyan and decided to develop it," Darryl still remembered every detail about the staw serum that Xhemin brought to the forest mansion back then and because she didn't want to take credit for it and be known for her discovery, she had given up all rights to Dr. Cyan Shun, including the rights for future development. Since Dian was the head of research of L'Empire, it was only natural for her to have access to it and develop it herself as Dr. Cyan Shun was an employee under her.

"Darryl at Franco's crib, I remember carefully that he said that this tea was made exclusively for all Lagdameo's. Am I right?" Xhemin's was so tense up that everyone in the room was trying hard to decipher what was wrong.

Was she mad that Dian developed her discovery?

Wasn't she the one who gave up the right to it?

"Yes," Darryl tried to answer all of her questions although he himself was confused with her reactions, "She gave every Lagdameo's family some tea ration every month. It was a good tea and everyone liked it. Why? What's wrong?"

"Since when did she start giving this tea?" Xhemin asked again.

"Probably at the time you went to the island, anywhere after or before that," Darryl answered patiently.

"Oh God!" Xhemin gasped and her expression became more miserable than it ever was. "It was that long already!"

"Xhemin what's wrong?you are scaring me!" Ziggy had enough of her weird expression. He knew something was wrong and it was very bad that Xhemin was almost losing it all. "Tell me what's wrong at this instant?"

"Ziggy? Can't you see?" Xhemin's was already in tears. "Don't you remember anything about the staw serum?"

"Anything like what?" Ziggy was so frustrated that he couldn't follow Xhemin's understanding. Why was she so afraid of some tea that she herself had discovered. As far as he knew Staw Serum was a medicine and so how can something good scare the heck of Xhemin?

"It had side effects. Do you remember what happens if your body had too much of it?" Xhemin sponsored the real point of her sudden panic.

Ziggy thought of a moment and when realization dawned on him, he gasped as badly as his expression fell. "It makes you impotent!"