My Stepmom Is A Vampire & Her Entire Bloodline Wants To Breed Me

Chapter 170: To Fix Something Broken

"Seamus, we can go back tomorrow. The mirror is working again," Madeline said.

He nodded without lifting his eyes from the playground. His focus stayed fixed on the same figure moving among the children, Maria.

"Yeah," he replied quietly.

Madeline tilted her head, watching him instead of the kids. "So... you like her?"

He stiffened. "What? No. I just want things between us to feel normal again."

She eased onto the bench beside him, leaning in close enough that he could feel the weight of her against his shoulder.

"Some things don’t return to normal, even if we want them to. Sometimes the best thing you can do is accept that."

"But I haven’t tried anything yet," Seamus said.

"Maybe if I talk to her or help her here, she will change her mind. I mean, Rowani is crawling with hunters and vampires who want my head anyway."

"Isolde would never let you stay," Madeline said.

After a brief pause she added, almost grudgingly, "But... the idea isn’t entirely terrible."

Maria glanced over at that exact moment. Her gaze met his, her irises flickering oddly before she looked away and joined the children again. Seamus frowned, unable to tell what she was thinking.

Two trucks pulled into the parking lot, drawing the kids’ excited shouts. Staff hurried over to help unload crates of food and supplies. Maria picked up a large box, struggling slightly as she balanced it against her body.

Seamus immediately stood. Madeline just sighed and stayed seated.

He approached Maria. "Here, let me—"

She snatched the box back before he could finish. "No. I’m fine. Take a different one."

She walked off without waiting for his response.

Seamus ran a hand through his hair and let out a breath. Maybe giving up really would be easier. They barely spoke, barely existed in the same world anymore. Why keep trying?

But then he remembered being small, scared, and hiding behind her whenever things got too hard.

He remembered her quietly stepping in, gently guiding him, never asking anything in return. Back then she had been the only consistent kindness he had.

"Yeah. Hard to forget that," he muttered.

He grabbed another box and followed her inside. She didn’t thank him or look his way, but he still kept helping.

It wasn’t much, but it felt better than doing nothing. Watching her laugh with the toddlers softened something in him.

At least she still had that gentle part intact, even if it wasn’t directed at him anymore.

Later, the two of them were assigned to supervise the older kids at the playground. Maria sat on a swing, legs relaxed, the chain creaking lightly as she rocked.

Seamus stood next to her, watching the children race each other across the snow.

"We used to play like this too, you know," he said.

Maria hummed without looking up.

"Want me to push you?" he asked.

She flicked her eyes to him. "No. We’re adults now."

And then the tension settled into something awkward. Seamus felt it like a thin crack between them, widening with every passing minute.

Watching Maria now, he felt a quiet sadness press into his chest. Maybe he had taken that gentleness for granted.

"Ahh!"

A scream cut through the air. One of the children fell to the snowy ground after being shoved.

Seamus and Maria moved fast. She reached the crying girl first, kneeling to soothe her while brushing snow from her dress with steady hands.

Seamus stopped beside the girl who pushed her, crossing his arms. "Why did you push her? Aren’t the two of you best friends?"

Before being assigned to watch over the group, the staff had given them a list of names with notes about the children’s personalities.

Seamus remembered every single one of them. The girl who pushed was Bambi. The one crying in Maria’s arms was Rachel. They were supposed to be inseparable.

"Rachel broke my teddy bear!" Bambi said. Her voice shook as if she was moments from crying.

"Is that true, Rachel?" Seamus asked.

Rachel nodded. "If I didn’t do it, she was going to leave. Bambi will go. I don’t want her to go!"

"I will go," Bambi yelled, her tears spilling freely, "My mom promised she will come back. That teddy is from her. You destroyed it."

She cried even harder, and Rachel began to sob too.

Seamus and Maria exchanged a helpless look. If the doll came from someone precious, even the nicest replacement won’t matter. The pain was not about the toy, and both of them understood that.

"I just don’t want you to go," Rachel shouted. "If you go, we won’t meet again and I will miss you so much."

"I told you I will visit you. I promised," Bambi screamed back. "Why do you not believe me?"

Maria crouched to eye level. "Bambi, your mother will come back whether you have the doll or not. I know you are angry right now—"

"No. She took something important. I cannot forgive her." Bambi suddenly spun and ran into the trees.

Seamus glanced at Maria, waiting for her small nod. She stayed with Rachel while he sprinted after the other girl.

---

Seamus followed the tracks with ease, his steps brisk and certain. He found Bambi sitting on a large stone, crying and calling for her mother. Her tiny shoulders shook nonstop.

He took a slow breath. Comforting children was not exactly his specialty, but he could try. He sat beside her and gently rubbed her back.

The moment she felt him near, she cried harder and buried her face against his chest.

"It’s alright, Bambi. We will try to fix the toy, okay?"

She sniffed loudly. "But why did Rachel do that? Does she hate me?"

"No. Why would she hate you?" He paused, choosing his words. "She is just scared. The thought of losing you terrified her."

The words tasted bitter. It felt too familiar, like he was speaking to his own reflection.

"But if she doesn’t hate me, she should know I love that teddy," Bambi cried.

"I want my mom to come back. I want to go home. But she destroyed it anyway. People don’t destroy what you love. Why would she do that?"

Seamus went quiet. Not because he lacked an answer, but because explaining the complexity of human emotions was hard.

The world was full of emotions that twisted in on themselves. Sometimes love makes people act in desperate, stupid ways.

"Bambi, Rachel doesn’t hate you. She loves you more than anyone here." He lifted her chin gently so she could see him.

"She made a mistake, and she did it because she was scared. Just like you are scared of losing your mother, she is scared of losing you."

Bambi’s breathing slowed. Her eyes were huge and wet, waiting.

"You will get your teddy back and your mother too. Would you still be able to forgive her, then?" he asked softly.