Characters ❤️🩹
"Every person carries two stories.
The one the world sees...
And the one that quietly breaks them every night."
Welcome to The Die-Mansions.
Tara Vaidh (24)
Independent.
Hardworking.
The girl who built herself from the ashes.
She smiles so brightly that strangers assume life has always been kind to her.
It wasn't.
Her sweet words can calm storms.
Her intelligence can silence rooms.
But once the lights go off...
she finds comfort where no one can disturb her-
Books
.
Because fictional worlds have never abandoned her.
Unlike reality.
Once, she had a brother.
Swastikh Vaidh
.
Life stole him through a cruel twist of fate called accidental adoption.
Some losses never stop echoing.
Shikha Singh (21)
Born into wealth.
Raised with values.
The rare combination people don't believe exists.
Soft-spoken.
Gentle.
Family is her entire universe.
Until destiny tears that universe apart.
A tragic car accident takes away both her parents.
Her brother survives...
only to fall into a coma.
Everything changes overnight.
Everything...
except her love for books.
Because books still wait for her every morning.
Neha Singh
The Tech Queen.
Mother of Shikha and Adwait.
A woman whose brilliance spoke louder than titles.
She left the world too soon...
but her legacy never did.
Bharat Singh
The Hacking Beast.
Father of Shikha and Adwait.
Computers obeyed him.
People admired him.
Fate didn't.
Adwait Singh (21)
Shikha's twin pillar.
The boy who survived the accident.
The boy who never truly came back.
Sometimes...
breathing isn't the same as living.
Rajvik Singhania (25)
CEO of the mighty Ratan Empire.
Sharp since childhood.
Born to lead.
Raised to protect.
For his family...
he is warmth.
For his enemies...
he is the nightmare they never recover from.
Power never changed him.
It only gave him more people to protect.
Kalawati Singhania
Founder.
Majority Shareholder.
The woman who built an empire with her own hands.
She rarely visits the company.
She doesn't need to.
Her presence is enough to remind everyone whose throne it truly is.
Vidya Singhania
Chairperson of Ratan Empire.
Rajvik's mother.
Elegance wrapped around authority.
She doesn't fight for power.
She simply possesses it.
Vishal Singhania
Senior Board Member.
Rajvik's father.
A man who questions every decision.
Challenges every opinion.
Strengthens every leader.
Sometimes guidance sounds like disagreement.
Darshana Singhania
Deputy Chairperson.
Rajvik's aunt.
Every family has someone who quietly prevents disasters.
She's that person.
Grace outside.
Steel inside.
Vivek Singhania
Board Director.
The silent pillar.
He rarely seeks attention.
Yet somehow...
the empire feels incomplete without him.
Divyanka Singhania
Chief Strategy Officer.
Rajvik's cousin.
Expansion plans.
Market analysis.
Future vision.
She plays business like chess.
Three moves ahead.
Always.
Satwikh Desai (22)
Officially?
CEO of RD International.
Unofficially?
Just another cheerful branch manager.
Or so everyone believes.
He laughs easily.
Makes friends effortlessly.
Respects everyone who deserves respect.
But remember one thing.
He lives by a single rule—
"The version of me you meet depends entirely on the version of yourself you show me."
Kindness earns kindness.
Cruelty earns something much colder.
He's also Rajvik Singhania's closest friend.
Which explains why trouble somehow follows both of them.
Ranjana Desai
Satwikh's mother.
The woman managing the headquarters.
Calm.
Capable.
A leader who never forgets compassion.
She also shares a lifelong friendship with Darshana Singhania.
Rakesh Desai
Founder of the city's most beloved library.
Board Member of RD Publications.
A man who believes every answer already exists...
inside a book.
And if it doesn't—
someone should write it.
---
Prologues
Prologue 1
< Author’s POV >
“This day is really the worst I can ever have!” Tara cries frantically, dropping her head dramatically on the desk.
It’s already 10 pm. Everyone is already home, probably having dinner… but here she is, buried under files after finishing literally three cups of coffee.
She is searching for the specifications her client gave her—for the fifth time.
Her clients have always been the crazy ones, but this one… this was the master of all weirdos.
She keeps changing her script again and again every 2–3 days and still expects Tara to complete it in the decided deadline—no extensions, no mercy.
Poor Tara has no other option but to accept, since she was the one who personally requested her company to take this project.
No doubt, the work is the best she has done so far… but the unwanted torture that follows it is slowly eating her brain alive.
Finally giving up after going slightly insane over it, she decides to grab herself one more cup of coffee.
As she walks towards the coffee machine, her eyes fall on a book kept on the desk—
The Die-Mansions.
She pauses for half a second ignores and proceeds
And then— the lights flicker.
Once.
Twice.
Tara stops.
The computer screens blink like they’re confused too.
And suddenly—
blackout
.
“Are you kidding me right now?” she groans, turning slightly, already annoyed, already done with life.
THUD.
A sharp, heavy sound comes from behind her.
Her body jerks before she even understands it.
She turns fast
The window is broken.
Glass everywhere.
Not neatly cracked… but like something hit it from the wrong side of reality.
Tara freezes.
“…okay,” she whispers, voice suddenly not as loud as before.
Silence drops again.
But it doesn’t feel empty.
It feels… paused.
Like the world is waiting for her to do something first.
Outside, the trees move too violently, like they’re reacting to something she cannot see.
She takes a step back.
Then another.
Her coffee suddenly feels like the stupidest idea she ever had.
And then—
something shifts behind her in the dark.
Not loud.
Not visible.
Just enough for her body to react before her mind does.
And before she can even turn fully—
A scream bursts through the room.
Prologue 2
< Author's POV >
Ratan Mahal
.
One of the coldest places in the entire city.
It tops the list of places people would rather avoid. A mansion infamous for its eerie silence, chilling atmosphere, and stories that could make even the bravest soul think twice before stepping inside.
But today?
Today, it seemed as if the sun had risen from the west.
Because Ratan Mahal was no less than a fish market.
The mansion that was once said to echo with screams of mercy was now filled with fits of laughter.
Every member of the family sat comfortably, enjoying the spectacle unfolding right before their eyes.
"Bas tum dono ruk jao! How dare you!"
Tara and Shikha charged through the palace corridors, armed with a broom and a rolling pin like two fearless knights heading into battle.
[ Just wait both of you ]
Meanwhile, Rajvik and Satwikh—the princes of the palace—were running for their dear lives.
Both were dressed in oil-splattered aprons. Their hair looked like birds had attempted to build nests in them, while flour decorated their heads and clothes so generously that they resembled walking sacks of atta.
The entire family watched the chase unfold with undisguised amusement.
"Ruk jao, mataon!" exclaimed Adwait, clearly enjoying the chaos and deciding to add a little more fuel to the already raging fire.
Tara and Shikha slowly turned towards him.
And glared.
Adwait froze.
The women then turned away.
—
Royally ignored.
Adwait gasped dramatically, clutching his chest.
The others tried to control their laughter.
Tried.
Vivek failed first.
A loud snort escaped him.
The room exploded.
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Kya yaar, didi! Thoda toh taras khao unpar!" he said, trying desperately to hide his own embarrassment as his ears turned red.
[ Just have some merc in me ! Elde siste ! ]
Tara crooked a finger at him.
"Idhar aa."
[ Come here ]
Adwait immediately regretted every life choice that had brought him to this moment.
Still, like a lamb walking toward slaughter, he obeyed.
"Aahhh! Ouch! Didi! Dard ho raha hai!"
Within seconds, the ears that had turned red from embarrassment were now red from pain as Tara and Shikha twisted them mercilessly from both sides.
[ Aahhh! Ouch! Its hurting! ]
The room erupted into laughter once again.
"Didi yaar! Dard ho raha hai! Vaapis nahi karunga! Pakka!" Adwait cried dramatically.
[ Its paining! I won't repeat it! I promise! ]
"Agle baar yaad rakhna. Is baar jaane de rahi hoon," Tara warned before finally releasing him.
[Keep that in mind , I'll spare ou ths time ]
Adwait immediately stumbled back, protecting his precious ears as if they had survived a war.
Tara then turned her attention toward Rajvik.
A dangerous calm settled over her face.
"Ab thoda inse hisaab barabar kar loon."
[ Lets settle te account with him ]
Rajvik gulped.
Hard.
Nobody knew better than him how terrifying his wife could be when she was plotting revenge.
"Crime kiya hai toh jhelna toh padega hi," Shikha agreed with an equally deadpan expression as she looked toward Satwikh.
[ Now that you've already comma crime , you've to endure ]
Satwikh stared at her in complete shock.
Was this really his sweet, gentle wife?
Because standing before him was definitely Shikha 2.0.
And she looked significantly more dangerous.
