Julian Morrow The Secret History Novels & Stories

Paul looked at her, this part of the conversation unexpected. "I'm not telling them anything," Paul answered. "Are you insane?" Julia responded. "It's their mother we're talking about, they have the right to know." Paul cleared his throat, wanting this conversation to be over. "Let's not talk about this anymore." "No!" Julie shouted, getting frustrated with him putting this off. "We were talking about this. I don't like keeping secrets and telling lies. You have to say something. You can't let them pine over someone who wasn't really their mother. You have to tell them the truth."

Yulia’s POV The minute my lips crashed on his, I felt it. Trust me, I don't know what I felt, but I did anyway. Gosh, why do I sound so stupid! “Oh, he smells so good!” I thought to myself as I perceived his cologne. He smells fresh, with a touch of a woody note. I can perceive patchouli and bergamot. Mmm, it's so intoxicating. Without thinking twice and maybe straight, I deepened the kiss. I mean, you can't blame me when his lips felt so soft against mine.

EARLIER I can't leave her alone at a time like this, not even when she wants to. SABRINA POV Have I ever mentioned before that I have a sweet tooth? and everything there on the try in front of me was everything I needed in life! Cakes, tarts, coffee, doughnuts! This is heaven!! Though everything here is my favorite, still I couldn't get my mind away from Seleb and Isaac. To be honest I'm much more relieved now that I know that they are not some kind of mafia but government agents. I feel much more secured now.

He lowered his voice, his tone dripping with smooth, venomous amusement. "I don't expect you to flinch, old friend. I expect you to play," Julian whispered. "You look tense for a man about to marry the beautiful Arabella Ashford. I just thought I’d stop by and offer to buy my old partner a drink... for old times' sake. Or are we going to pretend we don't have a mutual friend named Richard who is dying to tell me everything he knows about the Whitmore family secrets?" "Julian, if Richard Hart actually possessed a single secret that could hurt me, I wouldn’t have allowed him to survive the winter," Adrian said, his voice smooth and entirely unbothered. "Enjoy the city."

Julian answered, lowering his voice. "Follow me, I have a key to the Archives." "The Archives? Isn’t that restricted?" "My father is a Senator," Julian said with a wink. "He’s also the biggest donor to the history department, I have keys to doors that aren’t even on the map." He led me past the main stacks and down a narrow staircase that smelled of dust and glue. At the bottom stood a heavy iron door, Julian pulled out a brass key, unlocked it, and ushered me inside.

“Well, if it isn’t young Ari Hale. Looking for another sci-fi romance?” “Not today.” Ari forced a smile. “I was hoping you had local history books. Old ones. Maybe about legends?” Mrs. Wetherby frowned. “The Folklore Shelf. Back left corner. But don’t go believing any of that nonsense.” Ari found the shelf covered in dust. Most of the books hadn’t been opened. She pulled out a heavy tome titled The Hidden Histories of Varro’s Hollow. An hour later, her fingers stopped on a passage:

I miss him terribly and I'm dying to know how he's doing after he got punched by Charles yesterday. I know I should have told them, said something at least. But something about keeping it a secret thrilled me, to keep going on. The sneaking, the quickies, the short kisses in the hallway, I felt so badass. They thrilled me and brought out my wild side, a side I didn't know I had until I met James. At least for now, my consolation is that Elizabeth understands me, she doesn't support my actions, but I know she understands where I'm coming from. And probably she can speak to Charles, so that he forgives me.

> “In the place where silence speaks, > Beneath the words, the answer leaks. > Among forgotten tales and lore, > The past unlocks the hidden door”. Juliette’s voice caught. “The library.” Damon’s eyes darkened. “She’s weaponizing our history.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The old city library had long been a fortress of quiet, forgotten knowledge. Sunlight bled through its tall windows like golden fog. Juliette moved with purpose through the aisles. She knew where Evelyn would hide it somewhere the ghosts of the past still whispered.

Arie’s POV Two Years Earlier The first time I saw Nicholas Contini bleeding, I was wearing a white dress. By the end of that night, his blood would stain my hands, ruin the lace around my sleeve, and mark the beginning of a secret neither of us would know how to escape. But when I unlocked my father’s study, I believed the room would be empty. It had remained closed since his death two years earlier. Uncle Angelo possessed the official key, but Papa had once given me another and made me promise not to tell anyone. I carried it everywhere, even after there was no longer anyone waiting for me inside.

Aurora said. "You already knew the recipe," Julian said. "You made it entirely from memory. I have been waiting for the right time to tell you that you were always going to know it." The massive revelation hung heavily in the quiet space between them. He had held that massive secret since her seventh night in Cedar Falls. He had let her find her own way back to the truth of her own palate. Julian reached his large right hand slowly across the wooden table. He touched the cracked leather cover. He slowly flipped it open. The thick paper rustled loudly in the silent kitchen. He turned past the blank title pages to the very first handwritten entry.