Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 1062

"It's nothing, really! It's just a wrap for my martial arts training," Owen scrambled to explain.

He had been terrified she would notice, so he had deliberately added an extra layer of bandages before throwing on the long sleeves. He hadn't expected her vision to be that sharp.

"You train every single morning. I have never seen you wear a wrap like that before," Eleanor stated, putting her fork down and staring directly into his eyes.

"Oh, it's a new technique Master Ellis showed me. The tension from the bandages helps with muscle resistance," Owen lied smoothly.

Eleanor turned her piercing gaze on Jordan. "Is that true?"

Jordan mentally strangled Owen but forced an agreeable nod. "Yes, exactly. It adds compression during high-frequency muscle contractions. Highly effective."

Desperate to keep the old woman from panicking, he had no choice but to cover for his disciple.

"Who on earth uses a wrap that thick for training? Do you think I was born yesterday?" Eleanor's voice spiked in anger.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. No more lying," Owen quickly backpedaled.

"The truth is, I just took a bad fall and scraped it up. Mira was being overly protective and insisted on wrapping it like a mummy." He sighed, putting on a flawless act of a hen-pecked boyfriend.

"Keep making things up. Let's see what other fairy tales you two can spin," Eleanor snapped, her temper flaring higher.

"Do I look like an idiot? Nobody wraps a scraped arm that thickly!"

Mira shot Owen an exasperated glare. She clearly remembered his arm hadn't been bandaged that heavily earlier. Had he seriously added more padding to try and hide it?

"Fine, fine. If they get a scratch on them, you can have my head." It didn't matter anyway. The two of them were lethal enough now that they'd rarely be in any real peril. And if they did get hurt, he just had to make sure they stayed far away from Eleanor until they healed.

Seeing the older woman's fury finally simmering down, Rachel carefully stepped in. "Eleanor, let's finish eating. Your health comes first. As long as you stay healthy, the kids can focus on their work without constantly worrying about you."

Rachel rubbed Eleanor's back comfortingly and ladled a generous serving of Wild Squab Consommé into her bowl. "Eat up," she whispered gently. "The kids are watching."

Placated, Eleanor finally picked up her spoon and began to eat at a steady pace.

After dinner, Owen headed straight to the corporate office to handle the catastrophic fallout from Lawrence's arrest. Jordan left as well, needing to meet up with Silas and Clarence Doyle to tie up some loose ends.

Once Eleanor was safely resting in her room, Rachel pulled Mira aside to give her a full briefing on everything that had happened while they were away.