Chapter 765

Natalie took care of Marico at the hospital for ten days. Since the script reading for Benson Cooper's new show was starting, she no longer had as much time to visit.

Marico practically shoved her out the door, complaining that with her around, he wasn't allowed to roam the halls, couldn't eat spicy food, and wasn't even allowed to talk too much because she found him annoying. He had been desperate to get rid of her and finally had his freedom.

But before she left, Natalie promised she would visit whenever she had free time.

"A woman should focus on her career, not waste all her energy on men, especially the bad ones," Marico teased.

Natalie completely agreed. "Exactly. Like the ungrateful kind right in front of me."

After exchanging a few more jabs, she left.

Despite his complaints, the moment Natalie was gone and he had no one nagging in his ear, Marico actually felt a little lonely. Still, he decided to head downstairs for some fresh air.

As the elevator descended, it stopped on the twelfth floor, and a loud group of stylishly dressed young people crowded in. Marico was squished against the back wall. Just as he was about to snap, he spotted Charley Sargent.

Charley's head was wrapped in bandages as he joked around with his friends.

"Your old man went pretty hard, giving you a literal hole in the head," one friend teased.

The mention of it made Charley furious. "Those Stapleton brothers scammed me out of millions of dollars! Where the hell am I supposed to find that kind of cash? I begged Marico, that bastard, to give me some time to pull the money together, and he just called my dad directly for it! Of course my dad was pissed. He called me over, and the second I walked in, a vase flew at my face. I couldn't even dodge it before my head split open."

"If it were anyone else, we'd help you get revenge. But the Stapleton brothers, especially Theodore, aren't people we can mess with."

"Bullshit!" Charley gritted his teeth in hatred. "I won't forget this. I'll get my payback one day!"

Hearing this, Marico's temper flared. But noting the seven or eight guys with Charley, he forced his anger down. He still had broken ribs that were healing.

No one in the group noticed him. When the elevator reached the lobby, they piled out together.

Marico cursed under his breath. It seemed Charley hadn't learned his lesson. He'd have to teach him.

another one late

As he strode

toward the hospital exit with this thought, he collided right into Charley.

"Hold on, guys, I forgot my phone."

Charley had just told his buddies to

wait when he turned and locked

eyes with Marico. He froze for a second. Taking in the hospital gown, the lack of anyone flanking him, his eyes gleamed with sudden O realization, followed by a wicked grín.

"Looks like my luck is turning around. God just delivered my chance for revenge on

a silver platter."

Three days later, when Natalie

finished her script reading and went to the hospital, she found out Marico had been jumped His bately healed bs were broken again, along with other severe injuries that required surgery.

She rushed to his room, but paused at the door when she saw his parents inside.

"If you hadn't started trouble, do you think he would have come after you? I don't know what kind of character Charley Sargent has, but I sure know yours. Simply put, you had it coming!"

The man shouting was Jonas Stapleton. He pointed an accusatory finger at his son, who lay battered and bandaged on the bed. He looked at Marico not like a father, but like a bitter enemy.

Mrs. Stapleton wiped her tears, claiming her heart ached for him, yet her words were just as sharp. "What terrible sin did I commit in my past life to end up with a curse like you?"