The Husband With many Identities

Ch 16 - Grandma's Fine

By dawn, the storm had finally passed.

Akeel came downstairs dressed for the Council's Court.

He expected the estate to be quiet.

Instead, he heard an older woman's voice coming from the main hall.

"Put the flowers there. No, not beside the window. Move them closer to the entrance."

Akeel stopped.

Seraphine was awake.

Servants hurried around the hall carrying flowers and arranging the room.

Seraphine stood in the center of it all.

She looked far healthier than she had the previous night.

Her energy core was still weak, but her face had regained its color.

Then she saw Akeel.

Her entire expression brightened.

"My grandson-in-law!"

Akeel froze.

Seraphine walked toward him with a delighted smile.

"You're still here."

Akeel did not know how to respond.

Seraphine reached for his hand.

"I knew you wouldn't leave me again."

Her smile suddenly faded.

She stared at him.

"Wait."

The warmth disappeared from her face.

"You left me before."

Akeel stiffened.

Seraphine's fingers tightened around his hand.

"Why did you disappear without saying goodbye?"

The servants went silent.

Akeel could feel the change in her energy.

Her core was reacting to the sudden distress.

The energy inside her body began moving unevenly.

Akeel recognized the warning immediately.

Before he could answer, Danaya stepped forward.

"Grandmother, Akeel didn't abandon you."

Seraphine looked at her.

Danaya kept her voice calm.

"He had to leave because his teacher called him away. There was an emergency involving a patient. He couldn't stay."

Seraphine's expression remained uncertain.

"And he didn't call me?"

"He lost his phone," Danaya replied.

Akeel understood what she was doing.

She was protecting Seraphine from the truth.

He immediately supported the lie.

"I wanted to contact you," Akeel said gently. "I simply couldn't."

Seraphine stared at him for several seconds.

Then her shoulders relaxed.

"You should have found another way."

Akeel gave a small nod.

"I should have."

Seraphine's energy settled.

Danaya quietly released the breath she had been holding.

The crisis had passed.

Seraphine suddenly smiled again.

"Then come sit with me."

Akeel had no choice but to follow.

She pulled him toward the sofa.

"You saved my life, didn't you?"

Akeel glanced at Danaya.

She gave him the smallest nod.

"Yes," he answered.

Seraphine's eyes brightened.

"My grandson-in-law saved me."

Akeel said nothing.

The title still felt strange.

Seraphine continued talking.

She asked about his healing studies. She asked who had trained him. She asked what kind of power he possessed.

Akeel answered carefully.

He could not tell her the truth.

Most people were born with one unique power. Some families carried the same ability through generations. Powerful bloodlines often built their wealth around those inherited abilities.

Akeel had no such limitation.

He could copy another person's power.

That was why he could heal.

That was why he could fight.

That was why he could create identities that should have belonged to entirely different people.

But Seraphine did not need to know any of that.

So Akeel simply smiled.

"I learned from a good teacher."

Seraphine seemed satisfied.

Danaya watched him from across the room.

For a man who had been furious about the forced marriage only hours earlier, Akeel was surprisingly patient with her grandmother.

Seraphine laughed.

Akeel even smiled.

For a brief moment, the household felt almost normal.

Then Seraphine's eyes grew heavy.

Danaya noticed immediately.

"Grandmother, you need to rest."

Seraphine nodded.

Akeel helped her stand.

Together, they walked her back to her room.

Once Seraphine was safely asleep, Akeel stepped into the hallway.

Danaya was waiting.

He looked at her.

"Let's go."

She nodded.

"The Council's Court?"

"Yes."

Akeel glanced once toward Seraphine's door.

"She'll be safe now."

Danaya followed him downstairs.

Neither of them knew that the simple divorce they expected would not happen that morning.