Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 852

"Impressive reflexes.

But I want you both to listen to me very carefully."

Master Ellis said, locking eyes with them.

"Never slack off on your physical training. The higher your skill, the sharper your instincts become. One day, that split-second intuition is going to save your life."

"I know, Master Ellis. I'm already a seventh-degree black belt in Taekwondo."

Mira stated proudly.

"Oh? And who exactly tested you for that rank?"

Master Ellis asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"My boyfriend did."

Mira turned to Owen, shooting him a frantic, threatening look.

Owen forced a smile and nodded. "Yes, I administered the test."

"Fine. You've made good progress. When we have some downtime, you and I are going to spar."

"Absolutely."

Despite her confident tone, Mira was internally panicking.

She definitely hadn't slacked on her training, but she had absolutely never taken a formal ranking test. She just assumed she was around a seventh-degree level and had blurted it out to make the old man happy.

A few minutes later, Master Ellis decided to head out, claiming he was going to leverage his contacts to trace the Ghost-Needle.

The moment the front door clicked shut, Mira spun toward Owen. "You need to test my rank right now. What level am I actually at?"

"You lied to his face about being a seventh-degree without even knowing for sure?

If you aren't at that level, I'm the one who's going to take the fall for this!"

Owen groaned.

Master Ellis already babied Mira enough; getting dragged into her lies was a death sentence.

In that moment, Owen didn't feel like a billionaire boyfriend, just a deeply exhausted sparring partner.

"It'll be fine! If he starts yelling at you, just pretend you can't hear him.

And if he tries to hit you, I swear I'll jump in front of you."

"That would make it infinitely worse! If you step in front of me, he'll hit me twice as hard."

He would definitely call him a coward for hiding behind a woman.

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"You agree to manage my entire financial portfolio, and marry me the second you turn twenty, and I'll gladly take the fall for this."

Owen smirked.

"We're talking about covering for a tiny white lie. Don't you think that's a bit of a steep price?"

Owen agreed immediately, desperate to stay on her good side, and signaled for the Iron Wolves and Jax Weaver to follow them out.

Since it was the middle of the afternoon, the estate grounds were mostly empty, giving them the perfect space to warm up.

When the actual combat test began, Mira's fluid strikes and devastating power proved she was well beyond a seventh-degree.

Owen ran her through two more rigorous simulations just to be absolutely certain, confirming that her current combat prowess sat comfortably at an eighth-degree black belt. "Not bad at all. You've improved insanely fast."

"How long until I can actually beat you in a fight?"

"If you want to beat me, you'll have to beat Master Ellis first. My actual skill level is technically higher than his."

Every time Owen sparred with the old man, he intentionally pulled his punches and lost gracefully just to protect his mentor's ego.

"Great, so I'm basically never going to beat you."

"I can't let you win at everything.

But listen to me—when Master Ellis tests you, hold back. Do not show him your full strength.

If he realizes I vastly underestimated your rank, he'll find a reason to scream at me anyway."

Owen sighed, accepting his tragic fate.

"Fine, fine, I'll dial it back."

With the crisis narrowly averted, the two of them headed back upstairs to shower and change before diving into their mountain of work.

It was going to be a brutal week; a massive stack of corporate contracts was waiting for their approval, and Mira still had to finalize the tracklist for the agency's upcoming album releases.