I Ate My Dinner While My Cheating Husband Froze To Death

Dinner was in full swing when my husband and my supposed best friend suddenly vanished.

After a quick search, a flash of text appeared in my mind, like a live stream’s floating commentary:

[OMG, thank goodness the Male Lead managed to grab the Female Lead and sprint from the restroom into the walk-in cooler, otherwise the Sidekick would have seen them!]

[But they aren’t wearing clothes! They can’t hide in there for long, they’ll freeze to death!]

I froze. So, my husband, Owen, was in the walk-in cooler, holding my best friend, Zara. And I was the “Sidekick.”

I walked toward the cooler door, but the owner, Vivian, blocked my path.

“Excuse me, ma’am. That’s for storing our ingredients. Guests aren’t allowed back here.”

The Chat panicked.

[Woah, good thing the Female Lead’s friend stopped the Sidekick, or they would have been found!]

[It’s fine, it’s fine. As soon as the Sidekick leaves, they can come out!]

The phrase “freeze to death” hit me like a physical blow. I changed my strategy.

“I want to move to a table right here.”

Vivian and The Chat were stunned.

“What? Sit right here?”

[WTF, Sidekick, what are you doing? How are our Male and Female Leads supposed to get out if you’re eating in the main hall?]

1

I pulled my gaze from the phantom text and forced back a cold smile.

Are they all that surprised?

Then I needed to eat well. Slowly. I owed that much to the pair currently holding each other close in the freezer.

Vivian, the owner, I knew because I’d been here a few times. But I never suspected she was best friends with Zara. Now, she was acting as a shield for Zara and Owen.

My face felt tight as I addressed her. “Why not, Vivian? The private dining room got a little stuffy. I want to move out here to the main dining room, and I’ll order another seafood platter and a bunch of other dishes. I couldn’t really eat much in there. Now I can feast. Besides the platter, I need two cases of beer. A dozen plates of Buffalo wings, 100 lamb skewers, 20 chicken sliders, 50 baked clams…”

Vivian was briefly speechless. Hearing me order so much food, she automatically grabbed her order pad.

While she was distracted, I quickly dialed my friends in the private room.

“Everyone, come out. We’re moving to the big table. I just ordered a mountain of food and booze!”

“Grab my purse and jacket on your way out.”

I heard them cheer on the other end of the line.

“Seriously? All that food? This is going to be an epic night!”

“I know! I thought we were winding down, but Sienna just went out and added an entire feast. We have to eat it now!”

“Let’s go, let’s go, hurry up!”

When they emerged and sat down, I laughed. “Eat up! Nobody leaves until we’re stuffed!”

2

Vivian was dumbfounded. Clutching the menu, she didn’t know whether to kick us out or tell the kitchen to start cooking.

She glanced anxiously at the cooler, then hesitated for a few seconds before trying to send us away.

“I-I just realized we’re out of stock for all those items. We can’t fulfill your order. You should probably just leave for the night.”

The Chat was quick to praise her.

[The Female Lead’s friend is amazing! She’s not even worried about the money, just about saving the Female Lead!]

[That order was easily over a thousand dollars. That’s true friendship!]

[This Sidekick is pure evil. She’s trying to freeze our Male and Female Leads to death! Humph. Not happening!]

[If the Sidekick and her people don’t leave, they really are in danger. Look, that cooler is 23 degrees Fahrenheit. They have no clothes. They won’t last an hour.]

[Waaah, what do we do? I wish I could just rush in there and drag them out!]

How Vivian must have wished she could, too.

She desperately wanted us to leave. But we had already dragged out all the plates from the private room that we hadn’t finished.

My friend Gabe immediately challenged Vivian.

“Hold on, Vivian. That’s not cool. We haven’t even finished our first round, and you’re trying to kick us out? Plus, we’re adding to the bill. You’re a business owner, you can’t just turn away paying customers.”

A flash of panic crossed Vivian’s face. “Don’t misunderstand, I’m not trying to rush you. We just genuinely ran out of those specific ingredients.”

I stood up and pointed past her to the glass-fronted cooler, where rows of meat, seafood, and vegetables were neatly stacked, looking perfectly fresh.

“Vivian, the dishes we ordered are clearly right there in your display case. How can you be out? Just get the kitchen to make them. I’ve called more people to join us, and they’ll probably order more.”

Vivian was completely stiff. “What? More people are coming?”

I held up my phone and smiled. “Yes, I called my mother-in-law and her two best friends. They absolutely love your food, and they’re all major gossip queens. Treat them well, and they’ll give your restaurant great publicity.”

3

Vivian turned to stone.

So did The Chat:

[HOLY CRAP, Sidekick, what are you doing? Why did you call the Male Lead’s mother? This is insane!]

[Even though the Male Lead’s mother actually kind of likes the Female Lead, if she sees her cheating with her son and is humiliated in front of her friends, how can she ever agree to them being together?]

[Exactly! She even told the Male Lead before that the Female Lead was ten times better than the Sidekick, but if she’s caught now, all that good image is ruined!]

[Forget that! If the Sidekick and the others don’t leave, the Leads are going to freeze to death! Can’t you see them shivering? There’s ice forming on their faces!]

[Oh my God, they look so pathetic. What do we do? I’m going crazy!]

[Don’t worry. The Female Lead’s friend will fix this.]

Is that so? I thought, a bitter smile catching in my throat. Can Vivian really fix this?

I intended to wait and see exactly how she would.

Vivian finally snapped out of it. Since the “running out of food” excuse was useless, she had to try another.

“The kitchen just told me the propane ran out. We can’t light the stoves. If you still want to eat, you’ll have to go somewhere else.”

Anger flared in me. I strode toward the kitchen entrance and saw the chefs still working, the line buzzing with activity.

Just then, the restaurant’s audio system chimed.

“Your online order has been automatically accepted.”

I scoffed.

“Vivian, you are acting so strange tonight. Why are you so desperately trying to drive us out?”

“Do you have some kind of shameful secret you’re trying to hide? Your kitchen is clearly still busy, and I can see the backup gas tanks right there. This is a decent-sized restaurant; you wouldn’t run out of fuel. If you don’t give us a straight answer right now, we are not leaving. I’ve already recorded a video, and I’m ready to post it online and let everyone judge!”

4

Vivian looked like she was about to pass out. The Chat filled with angry emojis.

[Damn it, I want to go in there and slap that Sidekick!]

[Why is she picking a fight with the Female Lead’s friend? The Female Lead is already too cold to talk. If the Male Lead wasn’t holding her so tightly, she would have passed out already.]

[It’s okay. If they survive this, this life-and-death ordeal will definitely make their relationship stronger and ensure their happily-ever-after.]

Happily-ever-after?

No. I absolutely wouldn’t allow that.

My friends also started shouting about complaining and exposing Vivian’s behavior. Having no other choice, Vivian finally grabbed the menu and retreated to the kitchen.

Watching her reluctant, defeated retreat gave me a surge of grim satisfaction.

But it was immediately chased by pain and fury.

I had been nothing but generous to Zara. When she was out of work, I got her a job at Owen’s company. When she needed a place to stay, I had Owen rent her a small apartment as a “company dorm.” I never left her out when we went out for fun.

And this was her repayment?

But it takes two. Owen was just as bad. He didn’t just sleep with someone in his own backyard; he did it right under the noses of all our friends.

If they wanted a thrill, I’d give them a real thrill.

I’ll keep them trapped inside that cooler tonight and see if they have the luck to make it out alive.

“Sienna, you are unbelievable! You’re out here spending my son’s money on a massive dinner again, dragging all these people with you!”

A furious voice suddenly broke my thoughts.

I turned around to see my mother-in-law, Dolores, with her two friends. All three had overly coiffed blonde hair and caked-on, pale makeup, clearly believing they looked like socialites. In reality, with Owen’s net worth barely scraping into the low millions, the Owens were just ordinary in the upper circles—barely worth a second glance.

Yet, Dolores always treated me like I wasn’t good enough because my family was only solidly middle-class. She constantly told me I spent Owen’s money, and any other woman would be a better wife.

She hadn’t wanted to come until I mentioned the massive order. Then she rushed over, eager to “eat back” her son’s money.

Ignoring her fury, I smiled warmly. “Mom, Brenda and Patrice are here, too? Come sit down! It’s not just me and my friends, Owen was here, but he stepped out for a minute.”

5

Dolores and the two Aunts sat down, their faces tight. My friends politely shifted to make room.

Gabe, always the charmer, quickly poured them wine and grinned. “Auntie, Owen was with us! Don’t pick on Sienna. We’re all treating each other. No one’s taking advantage of anyone here.”

Dolores’s expression softened slightly. She glanced at the table, and her face soured again. “Why are there only leftovers? Did you call us here to eat scraps?”

Brenda sneered. “Are we that hungry, coming to eat leftovers?”

I quickly explained. “I’ve already ordered a ton of new food, it’s coming right up. If there’s anything else you want, feel free to order it. My treat tonight—I’m paying for everything myself!”

Patrice immediately put down her purse and walked straight to the display case to order. Dolores and Brenda exchanged a look and quickly followed suit.

Vivian, clutching her order pad, looked completely defeated, jotting down every request, practically in tears.

The Chat was also on the verge of crying.

[Oh no, the Female Lead’s friend has completely run out of options… crying.jpg.]

[The Female Lead can barely breathe now. The Male Lead is trying to give her mouth-to-mouth and hugging her tightly, but he’s shivering uncontrollably. His eyelashes are covered in ice. They won’t last much longer.]

[If it were me, I’d get out immediately, embarrassment be damned.]

[But he explicitly told the friend not to open the door unless they hammered on it. She hasn’t gotten the signal, so she won’t open it.]

[The problem is they can’t even stand up now. How are they going to hammer on the door?]

[Seriously, they should have just hidden in the kitchen instead of the freezer! Now they’re stuck!]

[Are you dumb? The kitchen is packed with people! They didn’t have any clothes on! Why would they go there? I’d say the bathroom was better than the freezer.]

[To the person above: that bathroom is gender-neutral. The Sidekick already checked the door. Even if she hadn’t, someone else would have. They’d be caught either way.]

[Wait, speaking of that—their clothes are still in the bathroom!]

Me: “???”

Holy hell, that is juicy.

I need to find an excuse to check the restroom.

6

Soon, the extra dishes we ordered began to arrive.

Everyone ate heartily. Half an hour flew by with us all eating and drinking. Dolores and her friends were so focused on the food that only now did she suddenly remember her son.

She looked at me. “We’ve been eating for half an hour. Where is my son?”

I bit into a lamb skewer and shrugged. “I have no idea. He didn’t say.”

The others looked up, confused.

“We don’t know either. He just walked out without saying anything.”

“Wait, where is Zara? She’s gone too!”

I sighed dramatically. They were such foodies; only now did they notice Zara was also missing.

I feigned confusion. “Oh, yeah, she’s gone. Maybe they went back to the office together?”

Dolores picked up her phone and called Owen. It rang and rang, but no one answered.

She exhaled in relief. “He’s probably busy and can’t answer. As long as the phone isn’t turned off, it means he’s fine.”

Yes, as long as it wasn’t turned off, it meant he hadn’t been in a car accident or something similar.

But she didn’t know that some accidents were far more fatal. Like right now, her beloved son was naked, wrapped around the girl she liked best, and freezing to death.

Suddenly, she looked at me with deep dissatisfaction.

“Sienna, what is wrong with you? Your own husband is missing, and you’re just sitting here eating and drinking! If it were Zara, she wouldn’t be like this. If Owen hadn’t eaten, she would be worried sick and rush home to make him soup. When he’s sick, Zara buys his medicine. She stays up late when he works overtime. And you? You just care about going out and having fun! I’ve never seen you bring him food or show concern! Just like now, you don’t even know where my son is!”

“How wonderful it would be if Zara were my daughter-in-law. She’s competent at work, she’s good to my son, and she helps with everything inside and outside the home.”

7

I was stunned, my mind blank. She was tearing me down and praising Zara in front of all these people, without a shred of concern for my dignity.

My face went cold.

“Mom, is that really what you think? I have brought Owen food. You have seen me go with him to the doctor. Where have I been only caring about fun?”

“I have been running myself ragged out there, landing one big account after another for his company. I was so busy, in fact, that I didn’t even realize when my best friend crawled into my husband’s bed.”

“I really should thank you, Mom. You’re telling me things I didn’t even know. I didn’t know they had progressed this far. You’ve already given them your blessing.”

Dolores saw everyone at the table staring at her, their expressions openly excited for the gossip. Her face went pale as she instantly realized what she had said.

She scrambled to cover it up. “No! I didn’t mean that! What I meant was, you just aren’t as good as Zara! There’s nothing sordid going on between them! She’s always been respectful to me. She would never dare ruin my son’s marriage and make him a laughingstock!”

The more she explained, the worse she made it. Everyone was desperately trying to suppress their laughter. I just looked at her, my expression icy.

I was intentionally fighting with her to stall for time. No matter how much she tried to smear me, I would keep the argument going.

The Chat was furious.

[What in God’s name is this old woman thinking? Who would talk about their daughter-in-law like this in front of strangers? I actually feel kind of sorry for the Sidekick.]

[Seriously! She’s practically admitting her son is too close to another woman while married. Is she out of her mind?]

[She’s throwing the Female Lead right under the bus! Unbelievable.]

[The old woman is still arguing! The Female Lead isn’t moving much anymore. The Male Lead’s consciousness is fading. If they don’t get out soon, they will really die!]

Hmm? They’re really close to dying?

That means they haven’t died yet.

With that thought, I launched another volley at Dolores.

“Mom, your explanations are useless now. Even if Zara is my friend, and I brought her into the company, if she did something like this with Owen, that’s crossing a line! Stop defending them. If you like her so much as a daughter-in-law, when they come back, I’ll tell Owen I want a divorce and let her have your son!”

It was then that my friend Rory spoke up hesitantly.

“Uh, you guys said they both disappeared at the same time. Do you think they went to…?”

8

The moment she stopped speaking, everyone else immediately understood.

“They went to a hotel room?”

“No way, are they that brazen?”

“We’re all right here eating! They snuck out to get a room? That’s so unfair to Sienna!”

“It is! That’s disgusting. I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

“I read a story once—a guy went out to get cigarettes while out to dinner with his girlfriend and managed to hook up with someone in the parking lot. There are no new stories under the sun, folks.”

Dolores and the Aunts heard all the murmuring. But only Dolores was angry; Brenda and Patrice were strangely excited. Dolores often bragged to them about how excellent and capable Owen was. If he was humiliated, it would be a treat for them!

Brenda pretended to be upset and scolded them. “Stop talking nonsense. We watched Owen grow up. He is a decent, moral man. He wouldn’t be sleeping around.”

Patrice, her eyes wide, chimed in, “Exactly! Just wait until they get back. You’ll see, they won’t come back together!”

The whispering died out.

The air went dead silent.

Rory took the opportunity to stand up and break the tension. “I need to use the restroom.”

The Chat went ballistic.

[AAAHH, HOLY COW, someone went to the restroom! It’s over! Their clothes are still in there!]

[I knew it! They are going to be discovered now!]

[Where is the restaurant owner? Why didn’t she hide the clothes?]

[She couldn’t hide anything! Can’t you see she’s running around like a headless chicken? She completely forgot the Male and Female Leads are still in the freezer!]

I curled my lips into a cold smile, watching Rory disappear through the restroom door. There were three stalls inside. Would she see them?

I started a silent countdown.

A few seconds later, a piercing scream echoed from the restroom!