Illness Unscramble

Nelly and Naomi is a tragic, emotionally charged novel about love, betrayal, and the inescapable weight of the past. Nelly and Naomi are two beautiful, life-loving young women bound by both friendship and family, with Naomi only three years older. Their bond is tested when each is separately violated by the same man, who disguises his crime as love. When Nelly confesses her trauma to Naomi, she discovers that Naomi has endured the same fate. Pregnant and forced to flee her city, Naomi moves to another town and invites Nelly to start anew with her. For a while, they rebuild their lives—until fate turns cruel again. Naomi marries a man she loves but hides her pregnancy from him. Unbeknownst to her, the same man falls in love with Nelly and secretly marries her as well. Living under one roof, the truth remains hidden, allowing betrayal to deepen and wounds to fester. When the truth finally surfaces, Naomi leaves with her young son and begins a new life in another town, eventually marrying a different man. Nelly, meanwhile, betrays her husband emotionally, leaving him torn between love and resentment. Years later, he encounters Naomi again—along with the child Nelly bore—but Naomi refuses even to acknowledge him. Facing death after being diagnosed with a rare illness, Nelly seeks Naomi one last time, begging for forgiveness. Naomi, scarred by the past, refuses. Broken, Nelly returns home only to find another woman in her husband’s bed, mirroring her own betrayal. Life ultimately forces the two women and their husbands back together at a single event, where unresolved love, guilt, friendship, and disappointment collide once more—proving that some stories never truly end, they only change shape.

"Marry me," Helena said with a pounding heart. Alexander's eyes darkened, making her legs feel like jelly. "And what do I get in return?" "80% of my shares, plus 2 years of my time." "I don't want your shares, Helena... I want you." ***** They say you only realise what you've lost when it's gone. Helena realised this as she lay dying, killed by her husband and sister. Switched at birth and reclaimed by a family that never wanted her, Helena lived as an outsider in her own home. But when her grandfather left her a fortune, suddenly everyone cared. Especially Michael, her sister's ex-boyfriend, who swept her off her feet with promises of love. But love was a lie. Pregnant and naive, Helena signed away everything before they killed her. In her final moments, she prayed for one impossible thing: a second chance. When Helena opens her eyes to the reading of her grandfather's will, she knows exactly what she has to do. No more being the fool. Now, she'll reclaim what's hers and pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. Then she collides with handsome and powerful Alexander Grant, who looks at her like she's a puzzle he's dying to solve. He harbours dark secrets—including a terminal illness and a solemn promise to her dead grandfather. When Helena proposed a contract marriage, his answer ignited a fire neither of them could control. He remembers their past life, and this time, he'll stop at nothing to protect her, claim her, and make her his, even as his own life is fading. But desire is a dangerous game when your grovelling ex-husband wants you back and enemies circle like vultures. Can Helena save the one man who truly loves her, or will trusting her heart destroy her all over again?

When my best friend and I realized we had been reborn and traveled back several decades, we locked eyes, collapsed into each other's arms, and sobbed, shouting that we wanted to break off our engagements. The entire neighborhood whispered that we had lost our minds. But only we knew the truth. In our past lives, this was the day everything was sealed: she married a battalion commander, Ned Stark, and I became the wife of a high school teacher, Robbie Stark. My husband betrayed me. For the sake of that pretentious whore, Scarlett Wheaton, he stole my university admission letter and let her take my place on campus. The world mocked me as a failure, and Robbie stood by in silence. After we married, every time he touched me, he would immediately write another love letter to Scarlett—atoning for his supposed guilt. "Scarlett, even if I can't be with you in this life, my soul will always belong to you alone." Even my own child despised me, calling me an ignorant village woman, urging me again and again to divorce so that his father could be with his "true love," Scarlett. And my best friend, Rachel Croft—born the daughter of a factory director—was tricked by her husband, Ned, under the pretense of buying a house. He drained her savings and her wages for twenty long years. It wasn't until she fell gravely ill and went to sell the house that she discovered the deed he had given her was a forgery. The real house—the one paid in full—was in Scarlett's name. One of Scarlett's dresses cost more than my friend's entire monthly salary. When Rachel begged to reclaim what rightfully belonged to her, she was met only with contempt from Ned and her child. "All you ever care about is money. You're nothing like Scarlett, who isn't materialistic at all. Your illness is retribution," Ned had said. "Exactly. Only someone as noble and kind as Scarlett deserves to be my mother!" her child had said. Rachel and I both spent our lives working ourselves to the bone, only to end with nothing—dying bitter and broken from the injustice. But this time, fate has given us another chance. I will go to university. Rachel will become a wealthy woman. This time, without us paving the way, those shameless men and that wretched woman think they can still live happily ever after? Dream on.