"What? You ran a red light just to save time?

"Kian! Have you lost your mind? If something happened to you, wouldn’t that just disgrace Olivia in front of everyone?"

The most ridiculous incident was when I took an urgent order and ran through the streets in the pouring rain. By the time I handed the food to the customer, I was soaked through. When I got back, I came down with a high fever.

I called Olivia, hoping she could take me to the hospital, but Diane answered the phone.

"A fever? Just take some paracetamol. Why make Olivia run around for you?

"Olivia has an important meeting tomorrow. She needs to rest. Go to a pharmacy yourself, pick up some medicine, and while you’re at it, think about why other riders are fine, but you’re the one getting sick.

"At the end of the day, your body’s just too weak. You lack discipline."

Then she hung up.

That night, I lay alone under the covers, burning up, drifting in and out of consciousness. What chilled me more than the fever was everything else.

For the first time, I started to wonder if any of this was worth it.

The arguments between Olivia and me became more and more frequent.

"Olivia, can you talk to your mom? Get her to stop treating me like this?"

"I’m a person, not a puppet. I feel like she’s controlling every part of my life. I don’t even have any freedom."

"Kian, my mom is doing this for your own good. She just wants you to become better. That’s just how she is. You need to be a little more understanding."

"Understanding? She expects me to keep delivering orders while I have a fever, and that’s for my own good?"

"She didn’t mean it like that. She just… she’s used to showing care in her own way. Look at my brother Christopher. He grew up under her rules, and he turned out just fine, didn’t he?"

It was always the same. She kept going in circles—my mom has it hard, my mom means well, my mom is doing this for you.

I looked at her, and suddenly, I felt exhausted. These three months of torment had worn down my patience, and with it, every illusion I once had about this relationship.

Still, four years together wasn’t something I could just throw away.

In the end, I clenched my teeth.

There were only a few days left. I just had to endure a little longer.

On the last day of my "training", the weather was unusually perfect with clear skies stretching endlessly overhead.

Like every other day, I got up at 6 a.m., put on that yellow rider jacket, and prepared myself for the final stretch.

Maybe it was the feeling of finally being liberated from this torture, but I was in unusually good form that morning. Orders came in smoothly, one after another.

Around noon, I had just completed a delivery when my phone buzzed. A special order popped up on the app.

[Priority Same-City Delivery]

Pickup: City General Hospital Pharmacy

Drop-off: Building A-17, Sunshine Gardens

Note: Lifesaving medication—extremely urgent! Contactless delivery. Leave at the door. Please hurry!!!

The tip amount was shockingly high: $1,000.

My heart skipped a beat. Orders like this were usually life-or-death situations.

I didn’t hesitate. I tapped accept and turned the bike around, heading straight for City General Hospital.

Picking up the medication went smoothly. The pharmacist repeatedly stressed how urgent it was.

When I saw the label "epinephrine injection", my chest tightened. This was emergency treatment for anaphylactic shock. Even a minute’s delay could cost someone their life.

Sunshine Gardens was on the other side of the city.

I twisted the throttle, pushing the bike to its limit. The navigation voice in my earpiece blended with the roar of the wind.

"Kian, today’s your last day, right?" Olivia’s call came through.

"Yeah." My eyes stayed locked on the road ahead, my response short. "I’m in the middle of a delivery. It’s urgent."

"Let’s have dinner tonight. My mom said she’ll cook herself. Consider it a celebration for you."

"She also said that as long as your numbers look good today, all those minor mistakes from before will be wiped clean."

Her voice sounded light, almost cheerful, like she could already see our perfect future ahead.

For a moment, I felt relieved, too.

The damage Diane had done to me wasn’t something one dinner could erase. At least, it was finally coming to an end.

"Alright. I’m busy right now. We’ll talk tonight." I hung up, took a sharp turn, and sped onto the overpass leading to Sunshine Gardens.

Ten minutes… five minutes…

As the navigation showed I was almost there, the tension I’d been carrying finally started to ease.

Sunshine Gardens was one of the more upscale residential compounds in the city. Security was tight. I pulled up at the entrance, reported the unit number and purpose like I’d done countless times before.

The guard was about to wave me through.

Then a familiar figure stepped out from the security booth and blocked my bike.

It was Diane. She held a granola bar, arms crossed, watching me with casual ease. That same expression I knew all too well, which was condescending and critical, sat on her face.

"Mrs. Grant?" I froze. "What are you doing here?"

"Why shouldn’t I be here?" She let out a cold snort. "I came to see how my future son-in-law performs on his final day. Kian, don’t rush in just yet. Let’s talk."

I glanced at the timer ticking on my phone, panic rising in my chest. "Mrs. Grant, this order is extremely urgent. It’s a lifesaving medication. Let me deliver it first, and we can talk after, okay?"

I was practically pleading.

"Lifesaving medication?" Diane burst out laughing as if she’d just heard the most ridiculous joke.

After a moment, her expression turned cold. "Which one of your deliveries isn’t 'urgent'? Kian, don’t use that excuse to brush me off. Today, we’re going to settle the rules properly."

She refused to budge, launching into a list of my "failures".

"The day before yesterday, a customer complained that you spilled their soup. The platform didn’t fine you, but our family’s reputation matters. That counts as a major mistake. $5,000 penalty.

"The wedding will be pushed back another three months on top of what you already agreed.

"Yesterday, you delivered to Block B instead of Block A. If the customer hadn’t come down to get it themselves, that would’ve been another bad review.

"That shows carelessness. $8,000 penalty, and you’re not allowed to see Olivia for a week. Take that time to reflect."

Second by second, time slipped away. The box of medication in my hand felt unbearably heavy.

I stared at the unreasonable woman in front of me, and in that moment, every ounce of patience and restraint I had left finally snapped.

"Ms. Grant." My voice turned cold. "I’ll say this one last time. This is lifesaving medication. If it’s delayed, someone could die. Are you going to move or not?"

My tone seemed to enrage her. Her voice shot up sharply. "What kind of attitude is that? Kian, you’re not even married yet, and you’re already rebelling?

"I’m telling you right now, there’s no way you’re getting through this gate today! What could possibly be more important than me shaping a proper son-in-law? No matter how significant it is, it can wait!"

She even pulled out her phone, as if she was about to call the customer and file a complaint.

"I’d like to see what kind of person this is. They are so unreasonable that they’d make you run red lights and speed just to deliver their precious medication!"

Watching her start to dial, I suddenly laughed because I had just seen the recipient’s name.

Christopher Grant.

And the phone number… belonged to Olivia.