A Better Man (Part Two)
Short Summary:
Coriolanus Snow comes back to the Capitol, older, changed—and silent about what happened in District 12. Seraphina thought she was ready for his return. She wasn’t.
The Story
A lot has changed since Coriolanus Snow returned home to his girlfriend Seraphina after spending weeks in district 12.
Coriolanus has started to work under Gaul’s watch, claiming that she was the only person who could help him reach his goals.
She still scares him out sometimes, when he catches her looking at him in the dark with watchful eyes, but he can actually have a conversation now without feeling too nervous.
Seraphina is still..adjusting..to this new life where Coriolanus seems to have control of every single thing she does.
He orders the chefs what to cook for breakfast, yells at what time certain rooms need to be cleaned at the maids and lays out outfits and plans for Seraphina every single morning.
“I arranged a luncheon with my mother, the driver will pick you up at 12.”
He told her one morning when he just woke her up. Seraphina didn’t have time to argue, because a kiss was pressed to her lips before he hurriedly left the room.
And so, Seraphina heard the driver pull up at 12 and she walked out of the house in the light blue dress Coriolanus had picked out for her.
Since Seraphina is still living with her parents, her parents spend time with him as well. During every dinner, her father asks questions about how Coriolanus had spent his days as a peacekeeper and about the plans he has for the future.
A lot of plans involved Seraphina, which made her stomach turn.
Coriolanus, the charming man he is, won them over and her parents are urging them to move in together. Seraphina’s mother leaves folders of different houses around the house, so that the two of them can coincidently run into them.
“We’re not moving in together, mother. He just came back.”
Seraphina tried to argue but her mother just smiled knowingly at her, before saying:
“Time will tell, dear. Time will tell.”
Even Coriolanus started pushing on moving in together, claiming he already spent his days at her house. He returned to the Snow estate twice to see his parents and to grab some stuff to take to her house again.
“Baby, don’t you want to move in together?”
He once sweetly asked, cupping a cheek in his hands, like he hadn’t slapped her in the face a week before. Seraphina put on a fake smile, a mask she has learned to put on when he’s in the room.
“I do, Coriolanus. But let’s wait for a while, let’s wait until everything is settled. We still don’t know what kind of work you are going to do under Gaul’s watch.”
She reminded him, praying he would drop the subject. Luckily, he agreed and they didn’t speak about it for a few weeks.
But Coriolanus still scared her, even if he acted so polite and understanding. Everything about him scared her, he was as unpredictable as they could get.
***
Seraphina returns home after a morning volunteering at the bookshop around the corner.
She loves helping people to buy the right book for them and watching little kids tugging into corners reading books with each other, while the parents look at them in awe.
She started to volunteer a few days after Coriolanus returned, wanting to get out of the house as much as possible. He had laughed at her when she brought it up, thinking she was joking.
But when Seraphina made it clear, he turned serious.
“Why would you want to work for free? Am I not giving you enough?”
Coriolanus asked her, his fingers tapping on the dinner table. Technically, Coriolanus was giving her nothing. She lived off her parents' money, they paid for her shopping trips and she lived in their house.
“I just think it’s fun, it’s only a few mornings. I have nothing better to do.”
Seraphina shrugs and Coriolanus feels his irritation growing.
You could be looking for a house for us to move into, he thought. It annoyed him that she wasn’t making any moves for a move, when he was trying everything in his power to get a good home for them.
He made tons of appointments with a real estate agent, visited tons of apartments and searched on the internet for tips. And his girlfriend? Not even lifting a finger.
Seraphina walks up the stairs, hearing a maid vacuuming the living room and one vacuuming the hallway. Coriolanus told her this morning he would be working the entire day and that he has something to tell her this evening.
A surprise, as he called it.
At least she has some time for herself before she’s walking on eggshells again.
Seraphina opens the door to her bedroom and wants to drop her bag on her bed, but abruptly stops when she spots at least ten boxes staggered on the floor and her room almost empty.
All her books have been ripped out of her bookshelf, her desk is empty and the clutter on her nightstand is gone. The only things that are left are the large pieces of furniture.
Her heart drops and she runs out of her room.
“Mom!”
She calls and hurries down the stairs. Seraphina almost trips but catches herself just in time, her heart beating in her chest.
“Mom!”
“Yes, dear?”
Her mother emerges from the kitchen, wearing a neat dress and her hair in a perfect bun. Seraphina walks over to her and points to the staircase.
“Why is everything in my room packed?”
Seraphina questions. Her mother’s expression is calm, almost serene, as if this were entirely normal. She smooths her hands over her apron and tilts her head slightly.
“Coriolanus thought it would be best if the maids started packing for your big move. He didn’t want you to stress about packing.”
Her mother answers, walking back into the kitchen. Seraphina’s stomach drops and she runs after the woman that was supposed to protect her from all of this. Packing? Packing for what?
“Big move? What big move?”
Her mother starts cutting some onions on the cutting board and Seraphian slides down on a barstool. Her mother offers her a small smile, like that could fix anything.
“Coriolanus wanted to tell you it himself tonight, we thought you wouldn’t be home before dinner because of your volunteering work.”
Her mother tells her and takes a sip of her red wine.
I always finish at fucking lunchtime, you wouldn’t known if you ever paid attention to me, Seraphina thought.
“He didn’t even tell me he had found a house, he didn’t even tell me he was this interested in moving.”
Seraphina speaks, shaking her head in distress. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. They can’t expect that she will just nod and move, right? They can’t expect that.
Her mother sighs and puts her glass back down.
“Coriolanus told us he had found a few houses he was interested in. He knows what he’s doing, darling, he’s good for you. Coriolanus has a plan, a future, and you’re lucky he wants to share that with you. We’re so happy for you. We didn’t want to stress you out, we all know you would react this way.”
Oh, if only her mother knew how unhappy Seraphina has been because Coriolanus can’t seem to let her go. And they tell her she’s the lucky one?
“React in what way?”
Seraphina narrows her eyes and her mother is quiet for a moment, weighing her different options. How could she possibly talk this right?
All her stuff suddenly packed into boxes, being told she has to move without having any say in it, living with a fucking psychopath she doesn’t recognize anymore.
Coriolanus isn’t her Coryo anymore, he’s a cruel man.
“Dramatic.”
The two of them stand there in silence. Seraphina’s mouth drops open and her mother stands there awkwardly before she continues cutting the onions.
“Dramatic?”
Seraphina spits the word out like it’s venom.
“You call me dramatic? You think I would be cool with my life being ripped away from me? I don’t want to live with him, mother. You don’t know him like I do, he isn’t what he looks like. He’s a fucking control freak. And you call me dramat-...”
“Why are you so fucking ungrateful, Seraphina? Your father and I have done everything to ensure a bright future for you and now you want to throw it all away, just because he decided things for you? He wants what’s best for you, you should be grateful you don’t have to think about anything in life! He’s doing you a favor!”
Her mother smashes the glass of wine on the kitchen counter and the glass splashes everywhere.
Seraphina’s eyes get teary and she’s sure it’s not from the cut onions.
“He’s doing me a favor? God mom, you’re even more stupid than I thought you were. I’m sorry I want to choose for myself, I’m really sorry! But I can’t let anyone plan out my life for me!”
Seraphina grabs the knife from the cutting board and throws it around the kitchen, earning a loud gasp from her mother. The knife ends up on the floor, the clattering sound rings in her ears.
Her mother stands shocked, her hands shaky and her eyes teary. Seraphina can’t believe she just did that, but she can’t live like this.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not moving. I can’t.”
Seraphina whispers, leaving the room in a hurry, her heart breaking with every step she takes.
**
Seraphina is laying on her bed, crying her eyes out. The boxes on the floor keep reminding her of what the people she trusted did to her. They knew, they knew all along but never told her.
She presses a hand to her mouth to stop a sob from escaping. She can’t believe it, how easily her mother has chosen his side, how neatly her life is being packed away piece by piece. She doesn’t feel lucky, but trapped.
Hours pass by, maids slowly leaving their house and the sound of vacuuming and cleaning disappearing. Seraphina sits on the floor, knees drawn to her cheesy, trying to steady her breathing.
Then, the sound of a car door echoes outside. She doesn’t need to look to know who it is.
The front door opens and she hears people speaking, her mother speaking to the devil. Her mother is probably telling him all about Seraphina’s outburst and the way she threw a knife around the kitchen.
She hears Coriolanus’ calm and polite voice, before she hears someone’s loud steps on the stairs.
Seraphina holds her breath and her heart starts beating in her chest when someone knocks loudly on her door.
“Seraphina, open the door.”
Coriolanus’ voice is firm and she can imagine how he’s clenching his jaw and standing there with his hands in his pockets, impatient.
Coriolanus feels the anger growing inside of me, why is his girlfriend acting like this. She should be grateful he spent all his free time on finding a good house for them so that she had all the time to do what she wanted to do.
Her mother told him about their argument and how reckless Seraphina had reacted. Throwing a knife around the kitchen like a fucking child, disrespecting her parents like they didn’t want what’s best for her.
They know who’s best for her, Coriolanus Snow.
But anger won’t get her out of her room, so he has to take a different route.
“Sweetheart?”
He tries again, tone softening, but the false sweetness makes her stomach twist.
“I know you’re upset. I didn’t want you to find out this way.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have done it behind my back, Coriolanus.”
Seraphina calls out and stands up from her seating position. She softly walks to the door, almost feeling his presence behind it. She feels him rolling his eyes, checking his watch like she’s just a situation he has to handle quickly.
Then a faint chuckle that didn’t sound amused at all.
“I didn’t do anything behind your back, my love. I was planning for us.”
“You weren’t planning for us, you were planning for you! You let the maids pack my bags, you told my parents before you fucking told me! You only cared about yourself. You may have fooled my parents, but you will not fool me.”
Another knock on the door, more forceful this time.
“Seraphina, open the door. We’re not going to argue like this. I just want to talk.”
Coriolanus can’t believe she’s acting so difficult, it’s not like he’s taking her to the districts or something. The penthouse he has picked out is right on the Corso, in one of the most beautiful buildings in Panem.
She will be able to meet her little girlfriends whenever she wants and her parents can visit her whenever they can.
If only she could stop being this little ungrateful slut. Oh he needs to muffle her screams every need so that her parents don’t wake up and she begs him to fuck her harder until she can’t even remember her name and now all of the sudden, he’s the bad guy?
He can’t wait to have her alone in the penthouse and ruin her without having to be scared of anyone walking in on them. God, he will finally hear all her moans while he fucks her as hard as he can, that’s what she deserves after all of this.
“You always talk, and somehow I end up agreeing with you.”
Seraphina hears him chuckle and she can imagine how his shaking his head.
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry, okay? I should’ve told you I was planning on buying an apartment. But remember how we used to talk about moving in when we were still in the Academy? You wanted to live on the Corso with me, yeah? Spend all your days living with me, do you remember?”
Coriolanus knows all too well what he is doing, the Academy is her weakness. A small smile appears on Seraphina’s face when she remembers that time. Yes, she wanted nothing more than to move in with him.
But why does it feel so different now?
“Yeah, I remember.”
Seraphina softly admits and lets her head rest against the door. She wished Coriolanus never went to the districts, she loved him so much and now she’s not sure.
“I love you so much, Seraphina. And all I want to do is live with you, every single day. Gaul offered me a job as a gamemaker, I will make enough to take care of you. You will have everything you can think of and I’m still me, I’m still your Coryo, baby. Don’t ever doubt that.”
Coriolanus’ hand rests on the doorknob, ready to walk in the room the second she unlocks the door.
A tear runs down Seraphina’s face, she can’t believe how everything has unfolded. She doesn’t know what’s wrong and what’s right, everything is a blur.
Apparently she has unlocked the door because suddenly Coriolanus is standing right in front of her. His arms lock around her frame and she’s pulled to his chest, his arm rubbing down her back.
“Don’t ever lock me out again.”
He tells her strictly, pinching her waist, before ordering:
“Promise me.”
Another tear slides down her cheek but Coriolanus is quick to wipe it away. Another pinch to her waist and his overwhelming presence makes her blurt out:
“I promise, I promise.”
Coriolanus smiles down at his distressed girlfriend, perfect in his arms, right where she belongs. How stupid of her to lock him out, like he hasn’t got all the power in his hands.
“We will go down to apologize to your mother and then I will put you to bed, yeah? You’re tired and overwhelmed, we will talk more tomorrow.”
The words of Coriolanus all sound like a blur to Seraphina but she just nods. It’s no point fighting, she let this happen, she opened the door for him when she should've kept it locked.
A kiss is pressed to her forehead before Coriolanus leads her out of her bedroom, the sight of the boxes still haunting her. Seraphina doesn’t know when they will move out, but she’s sure as soon as possible.
Coriolanus feels happy when the two of them walk downstairs. They will move in two days and then he got his girl all for himself. He might have left the Capitol as a schoolboy, but he came back as a better man.
