𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘, 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑, 𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐘 || 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐖

𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈

"Since when did you care?" Seraphina snapped back, her eyes reflecting a mixture of defiance and pain.

The exchange hung in the air like a charged current, the tension palpable.

Coriolanus couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt.

The woman before him, once the epitome of strength and confidence, now seemed fragile and broken.

His initial frustration gave way to a realization that he had played a role in the unraveling of her composure.

"I care, Sera. I've always cared," he admitted, the weight of his own mistakes pressing down on him.

She looked away, her gaze fixed on the distant horizon beyond the balcony. "You have a funny way of showing it."

Coriolanus sighed, his anger dissipating into a sense of helplessness. "I messed up. I know that. But I want to fix things."

Seraphina remained silent for a moment, her eyes betraying the turmoil within. "You can't fix what's already broken."

"Why are you actually here? I heard you were gonna be sent to the districts to be a Peacekeeper," Seraphina said, her voice laced with a mixture of bitterness and curiosity.

Coriolanus took a deep breath, the weight of the truth settling on his shoulders.

"So they did find out, huh? Found out you cheated to save your little songbird," he listened to her taunt, a sharp sting of guilt gnawing at him.

"I did it for the prize. You know how much I needed that money. For Grandma'am, for Tigris... for you," Coriolanus explained, placing himself in front of her as they sat side by side on the balcony, a space that once held the echoes of shared dreams.

Seraphina shook her head in disbelief. "The prize was yours to begin with anyway. Did you know that?" She chuckled sarcastically.

"Dr. Gaul wants you to be another apprentice of hers just like I am. She already whispered your name to Strabo Plinth... you were gonna win it regardless."

"Do you know why I was even fighting so hard for that prize myself? It was so I could give it to you. So tell me, was it actually for me and your family as to why you saved her... or is it because you love her," Seraphina asked, her words hanging in the air, each one carrying the weight of unspoken emotions.

Coriolanus hesitated, his gaze avoiding hers. "I don't love her. It was for us, for our future," he insisted, the denial evident in his voice.

Seraphina's eyes glistened with tears as she met his gaze.

"You're in denial. You can't even admit it to yourself. You saved her not just for the prize, but because you've grown attached to her, emotionally. And you know what hurts the most? I fought so hard for that prize, thinking it would make you happy, thinking I could give you everything. But now, it's all shattered."

Coriolanus felt a tightening in his chest, the weight of his own choices pressing down on him.

"I never meant to hurt you, Sera. I never meant for any of this."

"I know. We can never help who we fall in love with... I should know," Seraphina's bitter smile mirrored the complexities of their shared emotions.

Coriolanus felt the air in his lungs thinning as Seraphina's words hung in the tense space between them.

The revelation that she loves him caught him off guard, a revelation he never expected to hear in the midst of their unraveling connection.

He knew that Seraphina was attracted to him but not to the extent of being in love with him.