Delhi, Historical Archives Room, 2024.
It was a dark, thundering night, and like many government offices, the archives rooms were supposed to be closed, but tonight, for some reason, the head of this department, Vikram Singh, was searching relentlessly for something along with his oldest friend.
He closed another K file and turned to see his friend as he tried to reason with her. "I don't think you will find anything here." But instead of listening to him, she murmured something under her breath that sounded more like. "I know what I saw."
Shaking his head, he searched again, and then, after one hour, Vikram heard a shock gasp from his friend, who apparently was leaning over the table, looking at all these old files in disbelief. He gave up his own search and rushed towards his friend's side, only to gasp in shock when he noticed six different pictures of the same person, a person who remarkably looked the same as his friend Kathani Ayer. "Kathani? How is this possible?"
The girl, shakily touching worn-out pictures from different timelines as proof of her existence, was staring right back at her. "This is me, Vikram; all these pictures are proof of my past life, a life where only I get happiness while many people suffer for years."
Vikram gaped at her as she shakily picked up a file of a woman in portrait. While all six women had the same first name as herself, Kathani, and later, to her surprise, five of them married Viscount Bridgerton, all except the first woman, whose name was Kathani (Kate) Sharma.
Vikram took that first lookalike file as he began to read it out loud. "It says she departed from what was then called Bombay in 1813 and died within a few months after arriving in London." He was about to read more when his friend burst into tears as she cried out. "So it's true! Everything begins with Kathani Sharma! Everything began the day she died!"
"Kathani, I do not understand. You speak about past lives, but this cannot be true. Maybe these women are your ancestors with whom you share the same facial genetics." But to Vikram's surprise, Kathani laughed as she told him. "That's what I wanted to believe, but after what I experienced these past few months, it's not something I can explain."
Vikram squeezes his friend's shoulder as he says. "Try me? I promise I will listen to you with an open mind." So taking deep, huge breaths, both friends settled down as his friend began her tale, the tale of Vampire, his Viscountess, and the curse of Mayfair.