chapter 1

Rani Saheb: The QueenPrologue | Teaser ChapterThe room was drenched in velvet and shadow.Crimson drapes swayed gently from the breeze seeping in through the broken jharokha. The chandelier above flickered, one light dancing too fast—as if it, too, was nervous.He knelt on the floor. Hands behind his back. Blood still crusted near his temple.She hadn't said a word.Not since they'd dragged him in—bruised, bound, and still daring to smile.Rani Singh, called Saheb by everyone who feared her, leaned back on her velvet throne. No crown. No guards inside the room. Just her. A blood-red silk saree, draped like armor, her gold bangles silent as her gaze."Do you know why you're still breathing?" she asked, her voice low. Velvet laced with poison.Dev Raichand looked up. His jaw was bruised, one eye slightly swollen. But that half-smile still curled at his lips."Because you’re curious," he said. "You want to know why I didn’t kill you first."Her brow arched. Delicate. Dangerous."And you want to die with flair," she murmured, rising to her feet.She walked slowly toward him, the sound of her heels muffled against the Persian rug. The perfume of sandalwood and smoke clung to her skin. Dev didn’t flinch when she stood directly in front of him.She crouched, face close to his, and whispered:"I don’t like being watched. And I don’t like being lied to. But I do enjoy breaking men who think they can handle me."He smirked."I wasn’t sent to kill you," he said. "I was sent to seduce you."There was silence.Then, a laugh—soft, elegant, cruel. Her hand brushed his jaw. His breath caught. She leaned in until her lips grazed his ear."Then let’s play," she whispered. "But understand something first."She stood again, walking to the table behind her. Uncorked a decanter. Poured two fingers of whisky. Her movements slow, deliberate, designed to test the tension in the air."You’re not the first man to try. And you won’t be the first to beg."She handed him the glass. He took it. Still bound, still on his knees.He took it between his lips, tilted his head, and drank.Their eyes locked.Something ancient passed between them. Not romance. Not even lust.Power. And the promise of ruin.That night, Rani didn’t kill him.She kept him.And with every secret he tried to bury, with every kiss that became a weapon, with every night he woke up craving her more than air—Dev realized one thing:He was never sent to seduce her.She was always going to destroy him.This is a story of obsession, betrayal, seduction, and power.Where love is a battlefield. And the queen never plays fair. Stay tuned to get updates.