The wheel of life truly turns without warning.
Only a few weeks after Rian had held firmly to his ideals, disaster came crashing in from an unexpected direction.
His mother suddenly collapsed at home and had to be rushed to the ICU of a private hospital.
The doctor diagnosed her with a brain hemorrhage that required emergency surgery within seventy-two hours, with the estimated cost reaching hundreds of millions of rupiah.
All they could do was wait, relying on emergency measures to keep her alive until the surgery could begin.
Rian's world seemed to collapse in an instant. The savings he'd proudly built up over years of driving passengers suddenly felt meaningless—nothing more than a drop of water in the middle of a barren desert.
In a panic and desperate for help, the first person who came to Rian's mind was Siska.
With only a sliver of hope, Rian worked up the courage to meet Siska at a café. But instead of finding a solution, he found Siska in circumstances no less dire.
Siska's face was pale, her eyes swollen and streaked with tears. The event-organizing company where she worked had just been defrauded by a shady vendor who had run off with billions of rupiah in project funds.
As the event director, Siska had been accused of bearing full responsibility for the negligence. All her personal bank accounts had been frozen for the investigation, and she was on the verge of being fired and facing a lawsuit.
"Rian, I'm sorry... I really can't help you at all right now."
Siska broke down crying in front of Rian, her hands trembling around a cup of coffee that had already gone cold.
"I don't even know where I'd find the money for my own lawyer, let alone hundreds of millions."
Rian held back the tightness crushing his chest. He tried to smile, then gently patted Siska's shoulder to ease her guilt.
He couldn't add to the burden Siska was already carrying after being struck by such a devastating misfortune.
The days that followed became a small hell for Rian. He ran from one bank to another, but his loan applications were rejected because his job as an online driver was considered high-risk.
Borrowing from relatives only earned him polite refusals. Even selling his motorcycle brought in nowhere near enough.
The time left before his mother's surgery was running out; the final payment deadline was tomorrow morning. Rian tried to remain professional and hide the panic on his face as he picked up passengers.
But Ms. Valeri, a sharp and experienced senior businesswoman, immediately sensed that something was wrong when she climbed onto the back of Rian's motorcycle that afternoon.
Rian spaced out several times at red lights, and his breathing sounded heavy.
"You're not focused on driving today, Rian. What's wrong?" Valeri asked sharply when they stopped in the middle of a traffic jam.
Rian tried to brush her off with the usual excuse that he was tired, but Valeri was not someone who was easily deceived.
Through her extensive network and connections, Valeri needed only an hour to learn that Rian's mother was in critical condition at the hospital.
That night, Valeri ordered Rian to come to her lavish office in Jakarta's business district.
On the cold, gleaming glass table lay a stack of checks worth hundreds of millions of rupiah—more than enough to cover all of Rian's mother's surgery and recovery expenses.
But beside the checks was a document titled Exclusive Employment Agreement.
"I'm not running a charity foundation, Rian," Valeri said firmly, her tone cold and calculating. "These checks can be yours this very second.
"But the conditions are the same as what I offered you before: you quit being an online motorcycle driver, become my full-time personal assistant and bodyguard, give up your freedom of time solely for me, and sign a binding three-year contract.
"You can't pick up any other passengers anymore, including that woman named Siska." Rian stared at the checks, his eyes trembling.
The image of his mother lying weak and dependent on life-support equipment flashed violently through his mind. The doctor's warning that she could die if the surgery continued to be delayed echoed in his ears.
The principles, self-respect, and idealism he'd fought so hard to preserve on the capital's streets suddenly collided head-on with the brutal reality of life.
He had only two choices: preserve his dignity and lose his mother, or tear down his idealism to keep her alive.
With trembling hands and a shattered heart, Rian picked up Valeri's expensive pen. As the ink touched the document, he felt something inside him break.
He was forced to betray his own ideals for the safety of the person he loved most.
The next day, the surgery went smoothly, and Rian's mother's life was saved. But the happiness that had once lit up Rian's face had been replaced by a cold emptiness.
A week later, the internal problems at Siska's office began to clear up after the police successfully arrested the fraudster.
Siska's accounts were unfrozen, and her name was cleared. The first thing Siska wanted to do was find Rian and ask about his mother.
But she was utterly shocked when she happened to see Rian step out of a luxurious black sedan in front of the lobby of an office building in the Sudirman district.
Rian was wearing an impeccably tailored black suit. He opened the door for Valeri, carried her bag, and stood with his head bowed in utter obedience.
There was no longer any sign of the faded green jacket or simple helmet that had once been his pride.
Siska walked over to Rian just after Valeri entered the elevator.
"Rian... what is this supposed to mean?" Siska asked, her voice trembling with disbelief. Her eyes regarded the man standing before her like a stranger.
"The nurse at the hospital said your mother's surgery was paid in full last week. You... you finally accepted Valeri's offer?"
Rian couldn't bring himself to meet Siska's eyes. He bowed his head deeply, trying to hide the shame and regret burning in his chest.
"I didn't have any other choice, Siska," Rian said hoarsely. "My mother's life is far more important than the foolish principles I've spent all this time holding sacred."
Siska let out a long sigh. A deep, unmistakable disappointment shone in her eyes.
The admiration and budding feelings she'd begun to develop for the steadfast driver were suddenly swept away by a cold wind.
"I understand that you did this for your mother, Rian. And I'm grateful she's safe," Siska said softly, her voice sounding so far away.
"But honestly... something broke here. The Rian I used to respect so deeply for his sky-high self-respect, the driver who made me feel safe because of how firmly he held to his ideals...
"It turns out that in the end, even he could be bought with money."
Siska turned and walked away without saying another word.
Rian could only stand frozen beside the noisy streets of Sudirman. He had managed to save his mother's life, but he had to surrender his dignity—and endure the disappointment of the woman who had begun to matter to him.