The Price of Obedience

"Kian Reid, our family may not be an elite legacy, but in this city, we still carry some weight.

"My daughter Olivia is the one I cherish most. I’m not about to let her marry some spoiled, soft-handed boy."

At The Gilded Room, the most exclusive lounge in downtown, Diane Grant lifted spoonful after spoonful of truffle-infused cream soup. Her eyes were full of greed, yet she forced an air of restraint, carefully skimming the surface with her spoon without even bothering to look up.

She clearly didn’t belong in a place like this, yet she held her chin high, her tone dripping with pride and a sense of authority that left no room for argument.

Sitting across from her, I frowned slightly, the smile at the corner of my lips turning stiff.

Olivia and I had been college classmates. We’d been in a steady and serious relationship for four years.

After graduation, meeting the parents had been the natural next step. Marriage was already on the table.

I had assumed, given my background and everything I brought to the table, that this meeting would be nothing more than a formality.

I didn’t expect to walk straight into a test she had carefully prepared just for me.

"Mrs. Grant, I understand what you’re saying." I cleared my throat and spoke calmly, "My parents may have doted on me growing up, but I’m not afraid of hard work. I’ll take good care of Olivia. I’ll make sure we build a good life together."

"Build a life?" Diane finally lifted her eyes to look at me, her gaze sharp with scrutiny and laced with mockery.

"Kian, I heard you studied finance. You sit in a temperature-controlled office all day. Do you even know how much a delivery rider makes per order out there in the heat?

"Do you know the price difference between a pound of vegetables and a pound of meat? You’ve never experienced the most basic realities of life. What gives you the right to talk about building anything?"

Her questions left me speechless.

Olivia shot me an anxious look, trying to smooth things over. "Mom, Kian, he—"

"Be quiet." Diane shot her a harsh glare before turning back to me. "Since we’re already this far into the conversation, I won’t waste time going in circles. If you want to marry my daughter, fine. First, you’ll prove yourself."

"Prove… how?"

She set her spoon down and leaned forward slightly, announcing her decision, "Register as a delivery driver. Do it part-time. Work for three months.

"For those three months, you are not allowed to use a single dollar from your family. Everything you eat, everything you spend—it all comes from what you earn delivering food."