Losing the Ring

169. When you're guilty of something and hiding it from me, I had never thought in my wildest dreams how great an actor you'd be. You'd been hiding it for almost a month yet I never had an inkling of it. What's worse was that you chose our anniversary to confess to me about that mistake you made. It was our fourth anniversary and we had an outing to Mambukal resort. As we traveled there, you told me that you wanted to tell me something and that I had to promise not to get mad. Curiosity engaged, I agreed. And you confessed everything. You accidentally lost the ring I gave you as you were riding a tricycle. It fell on the road and was lost forever. You told me you tried searching for it but it was too dark. It was hopeless and your heart sank. How were you to face me? I remembered how I asked you where your ring was. You just shrugged and said that you forgot it at home; the truth was that you felt so bad about it. I never even had a clue! So that's why your ring looked new. It was because you went out a few days later and bought a new one with exactly the same design. I didn't even suspect that the ring was not the one I gave you. After you told me, I couldn't help but get upset. How could you lose it when it was on your finger? No, you said, it was on your belt. How could you lose it when it was on your belt? Silence. How could you keep it from me and lie to me all these days? And why tell me now of all days, I thought, when you could have told me earlier. I should have screamed at you and cried my eyes out in my seat. Luckily I didn't. You apologized again and again to me. As I sulked and glared at you with my ice cold stare, you tried your best to lighten the situation and tried to make me laugh it off. Look, you said, you tried to make the ring look old by scratching it. You told me that you also soaked it and washed it multiple times with soap to make it lose that sparkling silver gleam. Then you told other corny jokes and tickled me. I couldn't help but smile. I was impressed that you succeeded in that. You're so good at making me laugh. It's good to have a boyfriend who is willing to ask forgiveness for his mistakes and who is filled with humor. I made you promise to be honest to me from that moment on and to always confide in me about your problems. You shouldn't have had to go through those lengths just to buy that other ring. It was expensive and we were just students at that time after all. Losing that ring, I learned something about you. You don't like me to worry. We still had our upcoming board exams at that time when you lost the ring, it would have just added to my problems and would have distracted me. You would have been right in that aspect. So you waited until after the board exams, more than a month after, to tell me. That was quite considerate of you though I would have preferred the truth. But thank you for that thought. I took that new ring from your finger and proposed to you again. You accepted and wore the ring. There, problem fixed. The ring was from me once again.