Chapter 10 Be The Father Of My Daughter

• Madeline asked Enrique to wait for her for a few years. She wanted to settle down and improve her living conditions in Anglandur before asking Enrique to join her and get married. However, Enrique refused to go to Anglandur and made it clear that if Madeline decided to leave, their relationship would end. Despite this, Madeline made the resolute decision to pursue her career in Anglandur, leaving Enrique behind to host a wedding without a bride.
• This incident had a profound impact on Enrique and his family. The fact that the bride ran away on the wedding day was even more embarrassing and infuriating than Enrique's earlier expulsion from university. It was a tremendous loss of face.
• As a result of this ordeal, Enrique's mother fell seriously ill due to stress and required extensive medical treatment, depleting all the family's savings. Enrique borrowed money from every possible source and stayed with his mother in his hometown while she received medical care. Despite their efforts, his mother passed away, and Enrique was kicked out by his father.
• After returning to Salinsburgh, Enrique faced a great deal of sadness, carrying emotional scars and a substantial debt load.
• He searched for various jobs in the city, but the low salaries made it impossible to settle his debts. Eventually, he decided to establish a grilled food stall on the university district's streets. Despite the grime and exhaustion, the income he earned surpassed what he could make in an office job.
• He tirelessly worked to repay his debts and mend the wounds inflicted by Madeline, all while bearing this burden alone.
• Not long after leaving Jesse's house, Enrique took the bus to the hospital.
• Enrique proceeded directly to the ward he had visited before. This time, the ward's door was closed. Just as Enrique was about to knock, the door suddenly swung open. The woman who owned the BMW stepped out, and both of them were taken aback by the unexpected encounter.
• Upon seeing Enrique, she furrowed her brow and glanced at her daughter in the hospital bed. She then promptly pushed Enrique out and shut the ward door behind her.
• “Let's talk over there,” she whispered to Enrique before striding to the stairway.
• Enrique followed her to the stairway.
• When they reached it, the woman spun around and gazed at Enrique coldly. “Why are you here? Did you find my ring?”
• “No, I've lost the ring for real,” Enrique responded, shaking his head.
• “Then why are you here?”
• “Here is ten thousand.” Enrique retrieved a stack of cash from his pocket and handed it to the woman. He had amassed the ten thousand from his own savings of two thousand and the eight thousand he had received from Jesse earlier.
• “This is all I can borrow at the moment. Please accept it. I promise I'll repay the remaining amount to you later. I'm willing to sign a guarantee letter, committing to return a fixed amount each month. If I fail to do so, you have the right to take legal action,” Enrique stated earnestly.
• The woman didn't say anything or take the money from him. She merely stared at him silently.
• “W-What's wrong?” Enrique's heart trembled as he became the focus of her intense gaze.
• “I'm not a real estate company where you can pay in installments,” the woman retorted. She glanced at Enrique and asked, “Is your name Enrique Walters?”
• “Yes, I'm Enrique Walters,” Enrique replied, pulling out his ID card to show her. “Trust me. I'll repay all the money. You can hold onto my ID card as collateral.”
• “Do you run a grilled food stall?” she asked, ignoring his reply.
• “Yes, I do.”
• “Running a grilled food business won't earn you a lot of money, right?” she continued.
• “Why do you ask that?”
• “It is rare to see someone as poor as you.”
• “I may be facing financial challenges, but operating a grilled food stall actually generates a decent income. In a good month, I can earn over ten thousand, and I consistently maintain around that level. My financial struggles are a result of accumulating significant debts prior to owing you money, so I've been using my earnings to repay those debts. However, please have confidence that despite my limited means, I am committed to compensating you for the ring, and I will prioritize returning your money,” Enrique reaffirmed sincerely.
• “I don't have the time to wait for you to repay me bit by bit for such a small sum, and I don't even care about the money. It doesn't hold much significance to me. What matters to me is that ring,” the woman reiterated.
• Enrique nodded. “I know, but I have no other choice. Sorry about that.”
• “Now, answer a few questions for me. First, why did you choose to call me this morning? In fact, you could have chosen not to call me, and then I might not have been able to find you. In that case, if you hadn't lost the ring, it would be yours to sell, and you could keep the money. If it was lost, you wouldn't have needed to call me, and there would be no need to compensate. Second, why did you proactively come to the hospital to pay me? Why did you willingly provide me with your ID as collateral? You're a smart person, so you should know that the place last night had no surveillance and no third party as a witness. No one could prove that I gave you the ring. Even if I reported it to the police or took you to court, you could simply deny it. You should be well aware of all this,” the woman questioned Enrique.
• Enrique bobbed his head. “Yes, I know all that well.”
• The woman appeared puzzled. “So, why did you do it? Most people wouldn't have done this,” she remarked.
• “Maybe I'm just naturally a bit foolish or naïve, but I believe that as a person, one should have their fundamental principles and moral boundaries. That's just my personality. No one can take away what is rightfully mine, but I absolutely won't accept what isn't mine. The ring you left with me as collateral is yours, not mine. No matter how valuable it may be, I won't keep it. The five hundred is what I rightfully deserve, so you must compensate me for it. I lost your ring, and that was my mistake, so I should and must bear full responsibility for it,” Enrique responded.
• Hearing that, the woman fell silent and didn't respond right away.
• It took a while before the woman spoke to Enrique again. "I just wanted to let you know that I cannot accept your proposed installment payments. I don't have the time or energy to wait for you to repay me gradually every month. Moreover, it seems like you're not doing particularly well financially. However, I have a solution. If you help me out, I'll pay you a salary. We can deduct the salary from the money you owe me. Think of it as you working for me to repay your debt. Are you willing to consider this?"
• Taken aback, Enrique asked, "What do you mean?"
• "Be the father of my daughter," the woman replied sincerely.