Allegiance

Chapter 20

Approaching the three individuals standing in the backyard of the Helstea mansion, Arthur recognized them as Jarrod, Lilia's father, Vincent Helstea, and his father, Reynolds Leywin.

Vincent is a tall man with a thin build who wears glasses, has a small, brown beard on his chin, and his eyes are some reddish-brown color.

Renolds is a tall, muscular man with ashy brown hair, deep blue colored eyes, and a square jawline; he has a long beard and mustache, while his eyebrows are strong and fierce.

Jarrod stood behind Vincent and Reynolds, who stood beside each other, staring intently at the metal spike that was struck into the ground. Vincent was holding one metal horseshoe in his right hand, while Reynolds was holding two horseshoes that he was twirling in both hands.

Reynolds chuckled and smiled, seeing Vincent hadn't thrown yet, and looked deep in concentration. Reynolds knew he was currently winning, and Vincent was stressing over getting a ringer.

"Ah-em," Reynolds cleared his throat.

"Shut it," Vincent snapped, not looking away from the spike, trying to keep his target in his sights.

Reynolds shrugged innocently, "I didn't say anything."

"You're obviously trying to break my concentration," Vincent retorted, trying not to let Reynolds get inside his head.

Renolds chuckled since that was precisely what he was doing. Reynolds and Vincent have been friends for years, and he knew Vincent was competitive when it came to games. He always enjoyed teasing Vincent and watching as he became irritated from losing.

Vincent cocked his arm back and gently tossed the horseshoe underhanded toward the spike. Vincent didn't move an inch once the horseshoe left his hand, watching it with his intense gaze as it flew through the air. The horseshoe landed on the ground with a thud, with its back touching the spike.

"Yeah!" Vincent cheered, raising his arms into the air victoriously. While it wasn't the ringer he wanted, he was able to get his horseshoe to touch the spike while his other horseshoe was a few feet away. He knew this meant that as long as Reynolds didn't get a ringer, he would win this round. Vincent looked at Renolds with a confident smirk and pointed toward the spike, "How do you like that, Rey!"

The corners of Reynolds' lips curved slightly, seeing Vincent enthusiastic about getting his horseshoe close to the spike, and he nodded, "Not bad." Reynolds looked at Vincent with a side eye and a smirk, "Just hope I don't get a ringer."

Vincent's eyes competitively narrowed on Reynolds before he intensely looked back at the spike, hoping Reynolds didn't get a ringer.

Standing behind Vincent and Reynolds, Jarrod chuckled and shook his head, amused by Reynolds' and Vincent's playful banter. Thinking he heard some rustling behind him, Jarrod looked behind him over his shoulder, seeing Arthur standing there.

Arthur had a warm smile on his face, watching Vincent and his father having fun. It was moments like these that he genuinely cherished and why he loved family events. His eyes flicked to Jarrod, seeing he had noticed Arthur's presence. Arthur held his finger to his lips, signaling Jarrod to keep quiet. Jarrod smiled and nodded, understanding Arthur's non-verbal request, before looking back at Reynolds and Vincent.

Concentrating on the spike, Reynolds tossed his first horseshoe, and Vincent let out a breath of relief as it hit the ground, slightly behind Vincent's horseshoe.

"Don't screw up," Vincent said, trying to get into Reynolds's head, hoping he wouldn't get a ringer.

Reynolds chuckled and smiled, seeing right through Vincent's competitive antics. He tossed his second horseshoe, watching it hit and wrap around the spike. Reynolds smirked and nodded with satisfaction, seeing he scored a ringer.