The Price of Obedience

"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."