Chapter 170 - Truth About Salvatore Marino

"I have never really studied Salvatore Marino," Killian told her.

He had details on all the people associated with the Marino family. He believed that he knew secrets about Marino's that not even every family member of the same family was aware of. However, still, he had never tried to study much into Salvatore Marino for he had nothing special to look at him twice. 

Despite Salvatore's good looks, there was nothing to know about him. He wasn't special at all. However, he couldn't do the same for Persephone. 

Persephone Marino, as weak as she might appear, was as lethal as her father. Both share the same wicked mind but she lacks the motivation to use it, unlike her father. 

Emma smiled at him while shaking her head. He could read the thoughts running in his head on his face. Sometimes, it was too easy to read through Killian Marino. 

"Why are you smiling?" He asked her. Moments ago, this woman was crying in his embrace and now she was suddenly smiling and shaking her head at him like a fool. 

"This is the mistake everyone makes," Emma sighed out. 

There are a variety of people. Some like to show emotions and thoughts on their face. Some hide their true self beneath their skin. However, there is another kind of people-- they appear so harmless and ridiculous to others that no one would ever think that these people are the most fatal ones. And Salvatore Marino belonged to this category. 

"What do you mean?" Killian couldn't help but ask her. He knew that she knew something but wasn't clearly telling him. Perhaps, she was just simplifying the matters for him. 

"Killian, do you know I can practically be called a reason why you are in the place you are today?" questioned Emma. She still blamed her for what happened with the Palmero family back then. She paused and then looked at him with those eyes once again, and whispered, "If I had not been so obsessed with Sal and hadn't done what ultimately caused the death of your family ---" 

"Stop it, Emma," Killian said as he put a finger on her soft lips. He couldn't bear her blaming her for something she had no part in. Not even a but. So, he continued in a very gentle voice," You might not know but your father and my father were in preparation to stab Marino's back. However, before they could succeed, Lucian accidentally found this out. In order to protect himself, your father stabbed my old man's back. That's it." 

"If I hadn't been so obsessed with Sal back then…"Emma's clock was still stuck in the same place. 

Killian didn't let her complete her words and pulled her in his lap. Wrapping his arms around her delicate waist, he placed his head in the crook of her neck and said," Em, you and that pretty Salvatore Marino aren't capable of killing anyone much less than that wicked father of mine." 

"Kill, you are making the same mistake like everyone else once again," Emma spoke once again. He wasn't gonna believe her soon. But she had no evidence to support her claim as her thoughts were based on her intuition mainly. So, she began asking him basic questions. " Let me ask you a question: what will be the first impression of anyone who sees Salvatore Marino?"

"An empty head, arrogant, talentless prince."Killian was merciless in his reply. He didn't even think before replying to her. The answer was already formed in his head. 

Emma smiled. "Exactly. But let me tell you he is anything but the words you used to describe him."

"What do you want to say?" Killian was tired of this guessing game. He was also tired of hearing her praise that Salvatore Marino. To be honest, he didn't like her talking about that man at all. And Emma could understand it by the way his hold tightened on her. 

"He and I are the same age," Emma began saying with a nostalgic smile. "Did you know he could solve chemistry Olympiad questions when we were in middle school?" Yes, Salvatore Marino was a genius that was found once in a century. "Yes, Chemistry Olympiad questions. Not just chemistry but mathematics too. I saw him solving all those papers with my own eyes. The first time I saw him, I was dumbstruck." 

She raised for a minute to see the same expression that she was expecting to see on her dear husband's face. She continued, No one knows about this. When I say no one. It means no one except for me of course. Obviously, except for me. You know I wouldn't have known about it too, but Emmaline Costas of that time was an obsessive bitch. She used to stalk him every time. She knew everything about him. Even a tiny detail."

"Why are you talking about yourself in the third person?" Killian couldn't help but ask him. 

"Because I am not that person anymore," Emma smiled at him brightly. " And I don't want to be her anymore." 

"Then what happened?" Killian asked her. 

"Finally got intrigued by the Salvatore Marino I know about?" Emma grinned at her. 

Seeing his pursed lips, she continued, " Everyone thinks that Lucian hated Sal for being the Bastard but no one knows how he used to protect his little brother. He never called her 'bastard'. And Salvatore used to adore and respect his big bro a lot. He used to run behind him, using every scheme and method to make his big brother notice him. Lucian was notorious for ignoring people."

"No one else than Penelope could see through him," Emma chuckled. "However, he used to adore Persephone a lot. She was his little treasure." 

Coming back to Salvatore, she said, "Lucian protected him in his own way. It was like he knew something that no one does. And surprisingly...well for me… Lucian never paid any attention to Salvatore when anyone was present. He pretended as if he could barely endure Sophia too. But he loved that doll too." 

She dropped the bomb now as she said, "Do you know Don Marino had to buy a high school degree for Salvatore Marino because he was unable to pass high school."