Chapter 5 The Wedding Ring

• Ben was puzzled. He had never seen the little girl before this and could not understand why the little girl called him 'daddy'. He turned to look at the BMW woman and found her with eyes full of tears.
• "Missy, you must have mistaken me for someone else. I'm not your…" Ben tried to explain to the little girl, but the BMW woman interrupted him.
• "Annie, your father rushed back here to see you, so why would he abandon you? He loves you the most. Anyway… Your father has just returned, and I have to discuss something with him. Can you be a good girl and stay here? Your father and I will be going out for a while." The BMW woman secretly wiped her tears before smiling at the little girl.
• "Okay, I'll be good." The little girl nodded obediently before turning to Ben. "Daddy, I'll wait for you to come back. I love you."
• "I… You… This…" Ben was utterly dumbfounded. He looked at the little girl and the BMW woman in confusion.
• "I'll explain once we get out," the BMW Woman whispered to Ben, and they walked out of the room together.
• Then, the BMW woman closed the door and led Ben to the emergency exit at the end of the corridor.
• "I'm sorry for troubling you just now." The BMW woman apologized as soon as they got in. Then, she explained, "She is my daughter. Her father died in a car accident less than six months after her birth, she had no memory of him. As she was too young, I couldn't tell her that her father was dead, so I lied that her father had gone overseas for work and could not come home. She desperately wishes to see her father. When her condition worsened last night, she needed surgery, so I encouraged her by telling her that her father would come back to see her after surgery. That's why she mistook you for her father just now. She is ill, and I didn't want to worsen her condition, so I… I hope you don't mind."
• Ben was stunned and finally understood what was going on. He pitied the adorable little girl.
• "What is your daughter's illness? Is it serious?" Ben asked.
• After asking the question, Ben keenly noticed how the BMW woman's expression changed, especially the emotions in her eyes. He saw tears threatening to flow from her eyes again.
• "It's not serious, just the normal flu and fever. She will be fine after staying here for a few days." The BMW woman smiled at Ben as she explained. Then, she asked, "Can I have my ring back? I'm sorry you have to travel here even though it was my fault. Sorry for the trouble."
• As she spoke, the woman took out a stack of cash and began counting. She was getting ready to compensate Ben.
• Ben suddenly turned stiff and did not speak for a long time.
• "Here's five hundred as compensation for what I've damaged. I'm also giving you two hundred as your transportation fee here and another three hundred to reimburse you for the time you took off work to come here. It's one thousand in total. Please accept it." The woman gave one thousand in cash to Ben.
• Ben stuttered as he said, "You… You don't have to give me the money yet."
• "Why?" The BMW woman looked at Ben curiously and asked, "Do you think it's too little? Name a sum. I will pay you as long as it is reasonable. After all, it was all my fault. You even have to make a trip here."
• Ben explained quickly, "No, it's enough. The money is enough."
• The woman asked him in confusion, "What's wrong then?"
• "I… I… I lost your ring… It's missing." Ben looked at the BMW woman and hesitated for a long time before finally gathering enough courage to say that. He knew he had to face the consequences, which was his fault, so he could not escape.
• The BMW woman widened her eyes as she stared at Ben. Her face turned pale, and she said coldly, "I didn't hear you. Can you repeat what you said?"
• Ben repeated, "I'm sorry. I accidentally misplaced your ring."
• The woman regarded Ben and sneered. "Do you think I believe you? Coincidences like this don't happen. Tell me, you want to keep the ring for yourself, right? Don't devise such a lame excuse to mock my intellect."
• Ben replied angrily, "You misunderstand. I never intended to keep the ring for myself. Otherwise, why would I come here? I wouldn't have called you if I wished to keep it. Then, you would have no way of finding me."
• The BMW woman sneered and asked, "Alright, then tell me. Where is my ring?"
• "I… If I tell you I lost it because I ran into a building in flames to save someone last night, would you believe me?" Ben asked the woman.
• The BMW woman snorted and asked, "If you were me, would you believe it?"
• Ben replied dejectedly, "I… I wouldn't."
• The BMW woman demanded, "Give me my ring back. It is important to me. If you want money, I can pay you. As I've said before, it is my fault that you fell and suffered a loss. I am willing to pay you five thousand, eight thousand, or even ten thousand. But you must return my ring to me. Otherwise, I have no choice but to call the police."
• Ben said dejectedly, "I've really lost the ring. I've searched everywhere I could, but I can't find it. How much is that ring? I'll pay."
• "Pay? How are you going to pay for it?" The woman asked frostily and continued, "That ring is my wedding ring. It is proof of the love between my husband and me. Now, it is also the only thing he left for me. Yet, you dare to think you can pay me?"
• The BMW woman began to weep.
• Ben was stunned. He had never expected this.
• "I didn't know the ring meant so much to you, but it was an accident. It wouldn't do me any good to lose the ring deliberately," Ben said guiltily.
• Then, he continued, "The ring is truly gone and can no longer be found. That building has been destroyed. I… I can only pay you the cost of the ring."