The Billionaire’s Aloof Wife

The moonlight shone on the lonesome figure of a woman standing on the rooftop of the Leighton Corporation.

The wind gusted with the force of a fresh spring breeze, tousling Leila's soft blonde hair into disarray. Her hair seemed to be dancing in the air, scattering in all directions.

Leila blankly stared at the moon as she brushed the stray locks of her hair behind her ear.

Her body slightly stiffened when she heard footsteps behind her. Leila knew by heart who had come.

It was Zachary Leighton.

Leila's unruffled expression cracked for a fleeting second before it returned to tranquility. When she turned around and faced the man, her face was devoid of emotion.

Despite staying abroad for the past years, Leila still heard a lot about him, even if she wouldn't deliberately inquire. His name and reputation had reached other countries. It wasn't surprising, though, because his methods in business were quite ruthless.

Five years ago, Zachary ruthlessly overthrew his father, Gabriel Leighton, out of the company and replaced him in his position as president. Gabriel couldn't accept that and eventually had a stroke. He became paralyzed and was sent to California to recuperate.

In one fell swoop, Zachary rose to the position of the wealthiest man in Tesanera City by controlling the Leighton family single-handedly and doing several major projects simultaneously. This made him a legend in the business world. Despite his young age, he was already a business mogul.

In the same year, he got engaged to Talia, the illegitimate daughter of Philip Clark. And from what Leila heard on the TV news, Zachary deeply loved his fiance.

Leila took a deep breath and flashed a shallow yet graceful smile. "Mr. Leighton, I know you're busy, but please give me just five minutes. I promise I won't take too much of your time."

The man stared at her deeply as he whipped out a lighter and lit his cigarette. The flame in the lighter illuminated his devilishly handsome face.

With a cigarette between Zachary's thin lips, he drew in a small puff and blew the smoke back out. "Speak."

Leila didn't waste time and directly cut the chase. "Because of Wright Corporation's lack of liquidity, several significant projects had to be put on hold. Despite that, Wright Corporation is a longstanding company with a strong foundation. Though it wasn't well managed, I believe that Wright can recover its losses. So I'm hoping President Leighton will help and lend me ten billion to make a turnaround in a month. I will do my best not to disappoint you."

She spoke in one breath without breaking eye contact with him. However, even after a few minutes passed, Zachary didn't respond.

Leila waited for his reply and quietly sized him up. He was at least beyond six feet tall. He donned a black suit that perfectly accentuated his majestic figure. Even though he was only standing there, simply staring at her, he exuded an overbearing and imposing aura akin to an emperor who dominated an entire empire.

After a beat of silence, Zachary's low and magnetic voice sounded. "What's wrong with your voice?"

Leila didn't expect his sudden question and momentarily froze. She lightly coughed and said softly, "I have a cold."

A sarcastic smile flitted at the corners of his lips as he thought, 'Heh. It looks like a serious cold.'

Afraid that he would forget what she had said, Leila reminded him, "Mr. Leighton, what I said earlier-"

Halfway through her sentence, Zachary interrupted her, "Why should I help you?"

His words momentarily stumped Leila, and she dumbly looked at him.

His eyes swept her face as he drew another small breath and blew out the smoke. Then he added, "Tell me, why should I, Zachary Leighton, help you?"

Leila gasped and responded meekly, "If Leighton Corporation doesn't inject capital, the Petersons and Martins undoubtedly won't let this chance slip away and would certainly try to swallow up Wright Corporation. I can't turn to them and ask for help. They're too cunning and might even use this opportunity to compete with the Leightons. Besides, I prefer the Leighton family among the four major families."

"Give me a reason why you prefer the Leighton family," Zachary said lightly.

"Because you are always at the helm of Leighton's family," she promptly replied.

Zachary threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stared straight at her. He slightly tilted his head and said, "What if I say I'm not interested?"

His fathomless eyes seemed shrouded in dark clouds as he looked at her. It gave off an impression she would fall into an abyss. Nevertheless, she stared back at him with the same intensity because her grandmother's words rang inside her head.

Her grandma once told her if someone looked at her deeply, she should also do the same because only by then would no one look down on her.

Leila heaved a deep sigh. "Please tell me what your conditions are, Mr. Leighton."

"You," Zachary said succinctly.

Upon hearing him, the calm expression plastered on her face cracked. She was rooted to the ground as Zachary closed the distance between them.

He slightly bent down his body and gently whispered to her ears, "If I say I wanted you. Will you agree?"

A trace of confusion flashed past her eyes. She subconsciously took a step back and hurriedly wretched away her gaze from him.

"Isn't it enough that you've been hiding from me for the past five years?" A cold glint flitted into his eyes as he spoke.

Leila's eyelashes trembled, along with her voice. "S-stop joking, Zachary."

Zachary stared at her, and his lips curled into a mocking smile. He then snickered, "Tsk. You're still as indifferent as you were back then."

When his words fell, she gnawed on her lips and kept silent.

Seeing her expression, Zachary glanced at his wristwatch and said, "Miss, your five minutes are up. Please leave."

Hearing the coldness dripping in his every word, Leila clenched her hands tightly, digging her nails into her palm. Without a word, she strode towards the exit, but she stopped in her tracks when she remembered something.

She slightly turned her head and cast a glance at him. "Zachary, if I give you a life in exchange, will you help me?"

As she brought this matter up, what happened in the summer of ten years ago flashed into her mind.

Leila and her family got invited to the Leightons' annual company party. The child in her got bored listening to other people's chatter. So, she ran up to the rooftop to kill time. As the elevator door opened, Leila was surprised to see a young man standing close to the rooftop's edge and staring blankly at the boundless skies.

She frowned and thought he would commit suicide by jumping off the building. She walked over and said, "If you want to kill yourself, just jump. The 108th floor is high enough to kill you."

The young man looked at her and smiled, which didn't reach his eyes, and said flatly, "If I jumped off, no one would collect my body."

His forlorn smile was laden with a desperation that didn't match his young age.

Leila thought he was really pitiful. She sighed and made him a promise. "Don't worry. If you jump and die, I'll collect your body."

A trace of surprise flashed past his eyes as he quietly stared at her. Leila lifted her chin and stared back at him, unwilling to be outdone.

Moments passed, and the young man suddenly smiled. His smile was different from the one he showed earlier. It was gleaming with innocence, yet it had a tinge of slyness.

Leila was dazzled, and her heart began thumping wildly. She had never seen a person who could smile like that.

While she was in a daze, the young man, Zachary, lazily put his hands in his pockets and strode towards the exit. But before he left, he glanced at her and said, "Little girl, because those old foxes aren't dead yet. For now, I won't bother you with collecting my corpse."

Leila snapped out of her reverie. Looking at him now, the faces of Zachary from ten years ago and Zachary currently standing before her were overlapping. The only difference was that he was more unfathomable today than he was back then.

"I'll pay you back for that life, Zach," she said softly.

As soon as he heard her words, his deadpan expression drastically changed. His thin lips pressed tightly, and his eyes were covered with heavy frost, leaving only the bottomless gloom.

He gritted his teeth and snarled, "Pay? How will you pay for it?"

Leila said nothing and smiled. She promptly walked past him. She propped herself up on the concrete railing and stood on the edge.

Zachary's body instantly turned frigid when her actions fleeted in his eyes like a flash.

"After I jump down, please save Wright Corporation. I can't let our company get destroyed in my hands. So please, save it. This life is what I owe you. And I should have given it back five years ago." Her last sentence was almost inaudible, fading in the wind.

Despite her pallid complexion, she smiled brightly. However, when Zachary saw her smile, it inexplicably irked him.

The words she said ten years ago subconsciously rolled out of his tongue. "Don't worry. If you jump and die, I'll collect your body."

Hearing this, Leila smiled. "Okay."

Subsequently, she jumped.

"Leila!" Zachary felt his heart stop. He couldn't think about anything else apart from saving her. He dashed to her and hurriedly grabbed her wrist before she fell.

Beads of perspiration broke out on his forehead as he supported all her weight. He pulled her and threw her small figure on the ground without mercy.

Zachary grabbed her collar with red eyes that almost seemed to drip blood. Veins protruded from his forehead as though it was about to burst. His mood had turned dark and dreadful in the blink of an eye.

He was so agitated that his molars almost broke as he gnashed his teeth. "Do you hate me so much that you would rather die than agree to my request?!"

Leila felt a tinge of pain in her heart, but she didn't let her expression betray her true feelings. She looked at him stubbornly but didn't say anything.

Zachary took a deep breath and suppressed the rage coursing through him. He let go of her and stood up, then strode away with a dark expression.

He stopped for a moment and said, "Alright. Since you went as far as doing this, I will help you this time. But I'll wait for the moment when you cry and beg for my help!"

After saying this, he faced the woman who had been silent all this time. "Secretary Moore, send her home. If you can't do that, you don't have to come back."

Sunshine nodded respectfully. "Yes."

Zachary left in a huff while Sunshine strode towards Leila.

A tear escaped from Leila's eyes as she inhaled sharply. Her face was eerily calm, but her insides were grinding in turmoil. She lay on the ground, unmoving.

"Miss Wright, I'll take you home," Sunshine said.

However, Leila didn't move an inch. Her body seemed to have lost all its strength. Even though she did that on purpose, it still frightened her. She gambled today because she knew Zachary would save her. But a small part of her hoped he wouldn't save her.

Slowly, Leila sat up. She lifted her head and stared at Sunshine. "Secretary Moore, even though I haven't seen you in five years, you're still beautiful as ever."

Sunshine crouched down and helped her but didn't respond to Leila's remark. They went to the elevator, and after a while, they reached the ground floor.

Leila's legs were still wobbly, so Sunshine supported her arm and helped her into the car.

After getting inside, the low-key yet luxurious Maybach drove away and headed to the Wright family villa.

Leila absentmindedly looked out the window and didn't notice tears welling up in her eyes, clouding her vision.

"Miss Wright, we're here," Sunshine spoke and looked at her worriedly.

Leila nodded and alighted from the car. When she arrived at the front door, she took a deep breath and tried to push the sense of apprehension coursing through her body.

Five years ago, Leila's family banished her, and she honestly didn't want to return. However, Sunshine would definitely lose her job if she didn't go in.

After all, Zachary was a man of his word.