Bittersweet Bytes

Saanvi Mehta (Fl)

Age: 25

Profession: Cybersecurity Analyst | Software Developer

Hometown: Pune

Relationship Status: Independent → Controlled → Wife by Final Chapter

Personality:

> Introspective, loyal, believes in redemption

> A coder with romantic optimism

> Begins the story strong, ends it trapped—without realizing it

> Chooses love when she should’ve chosen herself

Family:

Father: Sameer Mehta

Mother: Pallavi Mehta

Quote:

> “He felt safe… maybe because I stopped checking for exits.”

Rudra Malhotra (Ml)

Age: 29

Profession: Tech CEO | Surveillance Architect | Founder of Mirror_Maze

Location: Pune → Mumbai

Relationship Status: Secretly Obsessed → Marries Saanvi by End

Personality:

> Obsessive, charismatic, and impossibly intelligent

> Master manipulator in the garb of a quiet, reliable lover

> Never raises his voice—but you’ll never forget what he says

> Believes “healing” her meant quietly redesigning her mind

Key Traits:

> Silent dominance, faux empathy, deadly patience, surgical strategy.

Family:

Elder brother: Reyan Malhotra

Father: Brigadier Veer Malhotra

Mother: Neeta Malhotra

Quote:

“I never needed her to love me. I just needed her to believe I could love.”

......................

THE MALHOTRA FAMILY

🎖 Brigadier Veer Malhotra

Profession: General in the Indian Army

Location: Stationed out-of-state, rarely home

Personality: Stoic, disciplined, emotionally absent

Role: Passive Father Figure — His absence enabled Rudra’s unchecked evolution

🌸 Neeta Malhotra

Profession: High-society socialite, silent matriarch

Personality: Image-obsessed, icy polite, knows more than she admits

Relationship with Saanvi: Polished on the surface, but emotionally indifferent

Quote:

> "Love changes men. But not men like Rudra. They just get better at pretending."

⚖️ Reyan Malhotra

Age: 32

Profession: Tech Lawyer, Corporate Consultant

Location: Mumbai

Relationship Status: Single

Personality:

Sharp-witted, calculating, and respected in the tech world

Often described as ruthless in his dealings but charismatic when needed

Fiercely loyal to family, especially Rudra, though he disagrees with some of his methods

Keeps an arm’s-length distance from the messier parts of his family’s affairs

Often perceived as the ‘cool-headed’ lawyer who makes things disappear

His reputation in corporate circles is both admired and feared, especially at hackathons

Family Dynamics:

As Rudra’s elder brother, Reyan is the mediator, the one who smooths over conflicts—yet, he remains emotionally distant and often leaves difficult situations to Rudra

Has a complicated relationship with their mother, Neeta, who prefers Rudra over him for his quiet obedience

Quote:

> “I’m not the one who builds the walls. I just make sure they’re legally sound.”

......................

THE MEHTA FAMILY

🧾 Sameer Mehta

Profession: Local Businessman (Owns tech supplies & hardware store in Pune)

Personality: Honest, modest, deeply loving but emotionally distant

Role: Proud of Saanvi’s achievements; believed Rudra was a blessing

Quote:

> “A man who waits patiently is a man who truly loves.”

(He never realized Rudra’s patience was weaponized.)

📚 Pallavi Mehta

Profession: School Principal

Personality: Sharp, practical, emotionally alert

Role: First to sense something off with Rudra—her instincts are always right

Quote:

> “Love doesn’t make you hide. Fear does.”

......................

SIDE CHARACTERS

🧠 Aryan Deshmukh

Age: 28

Profession: Ethical Hacker | Cyber Forensics | Former College Senior

Location: Pune → Disappears mid-story

Relationship: Ex-friend turned silent protector of Saanvi

Role: The Firewall that Failed

Personality:

Cynical, fiercely intelligent, protective

Once had unspoken feelings for Saanvi

Discovered Mirror_Maze. Tried to warn her. Vanished before she believed.

Quote:

> “You don’t need chains when you can code someone’s trust.”

🗞 Ananya Iyer

Age: 26

Profession: Investigative Tech Journalist

Location: Last seen in Pune

Caste/Ethnicity: Tamil Iyer

Role: Saanvi’s best friend | The whistleblower who vanished

Personality:

Bold, sarcastic, deeply loyal

Had the evidence to destroy Rudra’s system

Her encrypted blog file almost reached Saanvi—until it didn’t

Quote:

> “If love looks like surveillance, don’t call it romance. Call it what it is—reprogramming.”

🛡 Kabir Kapoor

Age: 30

Profession: Cybersecurity Consultant | Once employed at Malhotra Enterprises

Role: Internal mole who fed intel to Aryan and Ananya

Fate: Disappeared after refusing to alter logs of Mirror_Maze

Personality:

Reserved, morally firm, once loyal to Rudra

Saw the code and understood what Rudra had really built

Likely killed or hidden off-grid

Quote:

> “You built God Mode over her life, Rudra. You just called it love.”

👩‍💻 Kavya

Age: 25

Profession: Fellow Cybersecurity Analyst | Hacker | Saanvi's College Friend

Location: Pune → Mumbai

Role: The Bridge Between Friends and Family | Aryan’s Confidante

Personality:

Playful, mischievous, and ever-curious

A rising star in her field, but often overlooked by her more dominant peers

Fast friends with Saanvi, and become close with Aryan and others in the story

Discovered some of Rudra’s schemes but didn’t immediately act—keeps secrets for her own safety

Can shift between a calm, calculated demeanor and an enthusiastic, spontaneous personality

Relationship Dynamics:

Is a crucial ally to Aryan, occasionally playing the "spy" role within Rudra’s tech empire

Bridges the communication gap, allowing Aryan to keep tabs on Rudra’s actions without getting directly involved

Quote:

> “Sometimes, you just have to break the code before it breaks you.”

🔒 Hidden Layers

“Mirror_Maze”: Surveillance AI that categorizes emotional behavior

“BittersweetBytes.exe”: Final execution file confirming control

Echo: Rudra’s internal AI that helps simulate empathy—coded with fragments of Saanvi’s personality

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