TO HAVING YOUR REPUTATION RUINED TO NOTHINGNESS!

Humble request to the silent readers, at least to let me know if you are liking it so far in the comments...if not, I will be dropping this story and not waste all of ours time.

I have other upcoming projects too to concentrate. You guys do not vote, neither comment, what M I suppose to conclude from all of these?

A few more chapters and if this is the trend, I will drop this...

Thank you!

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To the Present day...

Ruqui was returning from the cattle field after his encounter with Ramirez, which, unfortunately, for him did not end well.

As the darkness started to seep in and as he made his way on the village's narrow pathway, he heard the whispers and gossip, all felt as if directed to him.

He felt the stares of those grouped in the village post. He could only wonder why they were looking at him as if he had done something out of the line.

He ignored them and resumed walking towards where his humble dwelling. Although, he often did not feel welcomed there by the others if not for Rafeal's wife and his daughter.

They were the only two who would be looking forward to his returning from the grazing ground.

After keeping the cattle back in the stables, he made his way toward their small hut but then noticed the small crowd on their porch.

"There he is...the cattle boy is here."

One of his stepbrothers saw him and declared it to the crowds who were unaware of his arrival.

It made Rafael, his wife and the others to turn around and look at him. Even he could see Ramirez and her parents there.

Did he do something wrong? Or out of the order?

From the looks of the situation and how they were all glaring at him accusingly, it felt akin to such.

"Ruqui, come here. They are here to fix your marriage with Ramirez. "

His sister told him when he eyed them with no knowledge. The information made him disbelieve what he just heard.

She came close to him and pulled him with her toward where the others were gathered.

"Young boy, you tainted the name of my daughter and made her the talk of the village by secretly pursuing her..."

It was Ramirez"a father. He was a dark-skinned man, authoritative, and even taller than Ruqui himself.

"What? I never pursued your daughter..."

Ruqui defended himself. All he did was to try and talk to her about what she had heard from peeking into the conversation between Rafael and that werewolf.

But instead, he was being rewarded with her hand in marriage. It had to be a misunderstanding on the part of the people viewing it in an entirely different way.

"Stop lying!"

"Im not. You can ask her...tell him, Ramirez. That nothing is going on between the two of us...tell him yourself."

Ruqui quickly interrupted the man to justify his claims. He was in no way going to be punished for something as patty as that for a damn rumor.

True to what Ramirez had told him that the village fellow literally had nothing worthwhile to do but create a rumor out of everything and anything.

Having been lived here for the past fifteen years, he had come to know of it. But he could not comprehend that it would spread so fast.

He turned to Ramirez for help. Of course, she would not want to be married to him either.

They had no romantic relationship between them as these people were mistaking it to be.

Ramirez remained silent for a while, not responding right away. Ruqui kept looking at her expectedly that she would stand by him and deny such allegations.

But what she told them in the next instant, blew his mind off.

"You must not be afraid of him...be honest and we are with you."

It was the short woman, similar looking to Ramirez and he assumed it to be the mother. She was standing, holding onto her daughter's shoulder for support.

"It is true..."

When she started, Ruqui breathed in relief. Finally, these idiot people would come to know that it was all just a mere rumor and nothing else.

"True...that he kept pursuing me."

And the bomb was dropped. Ruqui could not believe that she just lied to his face.

"He also asked his sister to make me go meet him in the grazing ground where nobody visited...he wanted to keep us a secret..."

"What? Why are you lying?"

Ruqui could not stand still and listen to her lying every bit of it. Ramirez did not look into his eyes.

"Let the girl speak! You had spoken enough."

For the very first time since his arrival, Rafael finally opened his mouth. It made Ruqui go silent altogether.

He knew that it was inevitable now that his fate was sealed. But why was Ramirez lying to be with him?

She was the only one who herself ridiculed and insulted him for being a cattle boy in the daytime then why would she want to settle down with someone like him?

It made him so confused but it was also useless to argue anymore. After it was decided that they were to be wed in front of the village chapel in three days, the other family left.

"Not any members of this house had ever bought shame or disgrace to this family.

I adopted you from that wetland to only be rewarded with this day of your shamelessness ?"

Rafeal scolded him after the family had left and his other adoptive brothers were poking fun at the situation from behind.

The only sympathetic ones were his sister and her mother. They were looking at him with saddened eyes.

Nothing much could be done after all it was already decided what was to be done and not done.

Going against the verdict would mean for him to be banished from the community and that was all he had ever known since his mother abandoned him.

"What are you thinking?"

He looked up to see it was his sister. After dinner, he could not sleep so came out for fresh air.

"You know that I was not lying right?"

Ruqui could not help but ask that. He needed to know at least there was one who believed him that he was not a liar.

"Does it even matter who is right and who is wrong?

The best I could advise you of brother is to accept this as your fate and learn to picture a new life with Ramirez.

She is not that bad, you know...come to sleep now."

His sister concluded and tapping on his shoulder, she left to retire back inside the small house.

Learn to coexist with that woman? It would be so not possible after coming to know that she was not just a liar but also tarnished his name for ages to come.

His reputation was non-existent but at the moment it had been ruined to nothingness.