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Chapter 29-The Disputes

Miranda Barone's POV

The sound of someone yelling woke me up. I quickly sat up and beside me Slade was shaking. Sweat was all over his body and he was yelling something in Russian. His movements were jerky and his face was twisted into what looked like agony and horror. He was having a nightmare.

I quickly grabbed onto his arm and tried to shake him awake. "Slade. Wake up! Wake up! It's just a nightmare." I said anxiously and Slade let out a roar before grabbing me and pushed me down on the bed before choking me.

I let out a strangled gasp and struggled. His eyes were wild and confused as he looked down at me. Finally realising that he was strangling me, he quickly jerked away from me before running his hands through his hair. "Fucking hell. Mel I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" He asks hoarsely as he looked at me with regret in his sorrowful blue eyes.

I nodded and rubbed my neck gently before pushing my curls behind my ear. "Y-yeah I'm fine. What was that?" I asked gently as I sat up before moving towards him.

His jaw clenched and he turned away. "Nothing important. Let's just go back to sleep." I rubbed his back soothingly, feeling the tense muscles in his back relax slightly from my touch. "If you want to talk about it, you can come to me. You know that right?" I said softly, not stopping my movements on his back.

Slade nodded before turning to me and I hugged him, feeling him relax even more in my embrace. He pressed a kiss on my forehead before his lips claimed mine. His mouth moved against mine slowly and gently and this kiss had enough heat infused in it to make my toes curl.

I gripped his shoulders as I kissed him back eagerly, my tongue moved against his as we made out. Soon enough, I pulled away and I panted softly as Slade rested his forehead against mine, his breathing was ragged and his hands curled around my waist. It was good to know that kissing me had an effect on him too.

"I'm sorry." I looked up at him before frowning, "About what?" He sighs and looks away. "About what happened in my study." I gave him a reassuring smile. "It's fine. I'm sorry for prying but I just want you to open up to me."

Slade looks back at me before caressing the side of my face with his rough calloused fingers. "Just go back to sleep alright?"

"Alright but only if you go to bed too." I said firmly and Slade gave in. He pulled the covers over us before his arms wrapped around me. I sighed contented and closed my eyes.

I was almost dozing off when Slade slowly let go of me and got out of bed. Where was he going? He sighs before wrapping the covers over me and grabbed a bottle of hard liquor before leaving the room.

I slowly sat up and stared at the direction he had gone to. What was going on with him? Grayson appearing back in Chicago was really affecting him, I bit my lip before getting back in bed. I was determined to get to the bottom of this.

***

The next morning after waking up, I came to a realisation that Slade hadn't gone to back to bed the whole night after leaving last night. A part of me was worried that Slade had gone to kill Grayson but I fought against that thought vehemently. Slade wouldn't do that. Would he?

I quickly dressed before heading down to see several empty bottles of whisky and vodka littering the kitchen. I bit my lower lip and entered the kitchen to see Slade gazing out of the window deep in thought. Another bottle of liquor in his hand.

"Is everything okay?" I asked softly and Slade turned to me and I gasped inwardly at the sight of him. His eyes were bloodshot and dark circles could be seen. His clothes were rumpled and if I didn't know better, I would have thought he was a homeless man off the streets.

"Yeah." He stated and I sighed before grabbing his hand and herded him to the bedroom. "You need a shower." I said determinedly and he glared at me, "I-"

"Go and get one now!" I insisted and he narrowed his eyes at me before complying. He stalked to the bathroom and soon the sound of the shower started. I sighed heavily before making my way down and cleared away the empty bottles.

Honestly I was surprised that Slade was still able to walk and talk perfectly fine despite the overwhelming amount of alcohol he consumed all in one night. I chewed my lip, it was killing me to not know the reason why Slade hated his brother. I was his girlfriend wasn't I? Didn't I deserve to know?

I was almost done cleaning up when Slade came down. He looked better and he seemed to have sobered up completely. "Do you feel better?" I questioned and he nodded before running his hand through his still damp locks. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

I gave him a small smile. "It's fine. I'm just worried about you. You're drinking excessively and you're not sleeping well." Seeing the look on his face, I continued, "I was still awake last night when you left and also you have really dark circles under your eyes."

Slade exhales before clenching his jaw. "There are things that have been happening recently." I scoffed before crossing my arms, "You mean your twin brother Grayson?"

"He's not my brother." Slade snarls, his accent thickening due to anger and I thinned my lips into a thin line. "Alright. He's not. But-" I stopped in hesitation before continuing, "But did you kill him last night when you left?"

Slade stiffened, clearly knowing who I was referring to. "No, I wish I did."

I sighed before cupping his face and looked into his blue eyes. "You don't mean that." All I saw was a stone cold expression. I sighed heavily and turned away to start lunch before work started while Slade clenched his jaw and stalked off to his study.

***

I walked out of the kindergarten and shouldered my bag. All I could think of was how was I going to help Slade with his family issues. I sighed and stopped when I spotted Mira and Mikael. Her face brightened up as she saw me. "Hey Mel. I haven't seen you in a while."

I gave her a weak smile. "Hey Mira. I know, life has been pretty crazy recently." Seeing my forced smile, she questioned worriedly, "What's wrong? Did Slade do something?"

I shook my head, "No." Suddenly, I perked up. Maybe Mira knew what happened between Slade and Grayson. "Have you heard of a Grayson Kolosov?"

Immediately, Mira stiffened and she licked her lips. "Yes. I know he's Slade's older brother. Why?" I sighed. "Slade has not been himself ever since Grayson appeared yesterday."

"Grayson Kolosov is back in Chicago?" Mira gasped and I nodded before continuing, "Yeah. I just wanted to know what's the bad blood between them."

Mira sighs, "Honestly I don't know anything. In fact, no one does. Except for those who are retired but they wouldn't say a word. Their loyalty to Slade can never be questioned. Erik doesn't really know the whole story either even though he and Slade are like brothers."

"Oh." I slumped my shoulders in disappointment. Erik didn't even know about Grayson and he and Slade were like brothers. I was just his girlfriend, if he wouldn't talk about it to Erik, he wouldn't even open up to me.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't help. But if it makes you feel better, you're good for Slade. He's really different-a good sort of different." Mira finished and smiled brilliantly at me.

"Thank you." I smiled gratefully at her. We exchanged goodbyes and we went our separate ways. By now, Mark and Tony were waiting for me in my car. The drive home was silent and suddenly inspiration struck. Maybe I could talk to Grayson and find out what was going on. But that would be my last resort.

"Hey Tony, yesterday, when you let Grayson go. Did he say where he's staying and how long he's staying in Chicago?" I question and Tony narrows his eyes at me. "Mel, that is not a good idea." He warns and I pursed my lips. How did he know what I was planning to do? Seeing Tony's warning expression on his face, I sighed and slumped back into the seat's defeatedly as Mark continued to drive back home.

I stepped into the apartment and to my surprise, a haunting melody was playing. Was someone actually playing the grand piano in our home?

I stepped into the lounge and there Slade was, sitting in front of the piano playing away. I observed him quietly, noting the way his fingers glided over the piano keys. You could tell that he had mastered the piano. I guessed this was another part of Slade that I wouldn't even know before Grayson came to town.

Slade Kolosov is definitely the definition of a contradiction. People thought of him as a cold cruel thug. Who would have thought said thug would know how to play the piano beautifully? His face was set into a grim and cold expression as he concentrated on hitting the correct ivory keys.

I didn't know how long I stood there watching him but soon enough the haunting melody stopped and he sighed heavily before speaking out. "You're back."

I nodded and pushed back my curls, "Yeah." Slade stood up and closed the lid of the piano before leading me to the dining room. "I made dinner." A smile slipped onto my face and I left my bag onto the sofa and sat down, admiring the meal Slade had prepared.

We enjoyed dinner silently and I couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind. Ever since Grayson came to Chicago, it seemed that there was now an awkward void between Slade and I. And I didn't know how to cross it. I knew he wanted me to drop the topic about him and Grayson but I couldn't. I was stubborn like that.

We finished dinner and cleaned up together. Suddenly, Slade spoke out, his tone firm and forceful, "I'm sorry for my behaviour recently. Grayson coming back has me affected. And I hope that you wouldn't ask about it."

I sighed and dried the dishes as I turned to him. "You know I can't do that." Immediately, his back stiffened and I chewed my lip before continuing. "This thing between you and Grayson has you so affected, its worrying me. And you won't even let me help or even know why."

His jaw tightened and he clenched the plate in his hands tightly. "It is of no concern to you. So I suggest that you stop asking." He bit out as he glared at me, his blue eyes blazing with anger and annoyance.

I glared at him and placed the plate onto the rack. "I'm your girlfriend Slade. You have to let me in." I said softly as I tried to plead with him. He turned around and his posture was rigid and tense, "Some things are better left unsaid." He gritted out and I shook my head slightly.

I had to know. I couldn't let it slide. Slade was hurting and I wanted to help him. The realisation came and left me breathless. The reason why I was so hurt about him keeping me out and the fact that I wanted to soothe away his pain was...because I love him.

There it was. Everything became so clear. I love him. I am in love with Slade Kolosov. Or Sebastian Kolosov. My throat tightened at that thought. The good and the bad parts of him? I loved it all. He was caring, considerate, he made me laugh. I even loved his cocky arrogant self, his grumpy self, and everything else about him.

"It isn't and you know it. Talking things out will help you feel better. I may know enough about you but the most basic things about you like your childhood? I don't even know a single thing about it. Hell, you don't even bother telling me Grayson is your twin brother!"

"MEL ENOUGH!" Slade snapped angrily, his eyes flashing, his hands were curled into fists and his mouth was bared into a menacing snarl.

"You have to stop pushing me away! Stop giving me pieces of yourself Slade. I want you. The whole you. Sometimes you show me parts of yourself and then you pull yourself back as if you don't want me knowing too much about you. This thing with Grayson? It's worrying me and I can't help you if you don't let me in!" I cried as I looked at him pleadingly.

He eyed me passively, all traces of his anger was gone before turning away. "I can't."

"Why not? Open up to me." I pleaded.

He shook his head, "You'll leave if you really knew the real me. You can't change anything about me. I'm fucked up. I've fucked up. There's nothing for you to fix. So what is the point of letting you know anything when you can't help?" He said quietly.

"Slade." My heart was bleeding for him and his cutting words about himself. If only he saw himself as I saw him.

"Can we just stop talking about this?" He asks and moves towards me. He lays his head on my chest as he hugs my body to his. I sighed and dropped the topic for another day. Slade holds me tightly as he closed his eyes and lays his head on my chest before remaining silent.

I ran my fingers through his hair soothingly before Slade spoke out quietly. "Just bear with me please. I need you Mel. Don't leave me."

"I won't." I promised and hugged him tightly as I stroked his back soothingly, trying to convey all the comfort I could to him.

***

"We need to make our move soon. We did, but apparently, that ended up with Lionel and the twins dead."

The man scoffed, "All of you are fucking useless. She's the bloody key for us to be on the top! And your people screwed it up. You said it will be easy as shit. But apparently you forgot that she's protected by the Russians!"

The man opposite him cracked his knuckles. "We didn't expect to be caught off guard. But apparently word on the street is that another Kolosov has come to town." Cursing sounded, "That's not good. We have to act fast. It's time that the underworld of Chicago is run by us and not bloody foreigners."

"Agreed."

***

A/N: Hey guys, hope you like the early update, give it a vote and comment! Chapter dedicated to virgogirl1 :)