chapter 1

Michelle’s iPhone:

Will: Why won't you come and visit me?
Michelle x: I'm just finishing off at the gym. I'll come round later
Will: I miss you :( I've cooked dinner
Will: Why aren't you replying to my message, are you okay?

That was the story every night. Michelle couldn't miss a gym session, or a run or a bike ride or any form of exercise she could manage to keep her super-lean physique in fine form. Will used to be just like Michelle, but he found all the things Michelle had steered away from at university such as parties, alcohol and junk food. That’s why Michelle won every sports accolade you can imagine as a student. Now she wanted to balance her office job with becoming a fitness model and ‘inspire women across the world to live their best lives.’

There was something about Will that Michelle liked, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Will needed Michelle and would do anything to keep her by his side. For Will, it was partly the status symbol of dating a super athlete with by far the fittest physique of any of his friend’s partners. There were feelings involved, and it would be unfair to say the pair didn’t really like each other – it’s just that there were ulterior motives on Will’s part.

The pair had been dating for almost two months, but Michelle was so busy at work or exercising that they rarely got to spend time together. Will hadn’t really established what Michelle’s job was, but it involved long hours in an office full of suits and even some weekend work. Although the sex was great when it happened, Will was very insecure and feared that Michelle would eventually leave him. Michelle would always leave Will’s as early as possible when she visited. The routine was the same, by 6.30am her long blonde hair would be tied back and her running shoes would be laced up ready to leave out for her morning 10-mile run while Will was still sleeping. Sometimes Will would reach his hand out of the bed to pull Michelle back in, but they both knew that was never going to work. Those glazed emotionless green eyes of Michelle would just look back at Will as if he were a furniture fixture. There was no way Will could stop her.

Will would always promise to make breakfast for when Michelle returned, but he would take so long that Michelle would just grab a banana and leave to go to work. It was no surprise that Michelle was just less than 120lbs because she only really ate leaves and berries as far as Will was concerned.

Michelle, 29, was two years older than Will and much further ahead in her career – mainly because Will had gotten lazy and she worked a lot harder than he did. She came from nothing and worked hard for everything she had. Will had all the support you could imagine and could easily have been further ahead than Michelle but lacked ambition. He was living a student life without the studying.

It bugged Will just a little bit that Michelle was always in such great shape and he had let himself go slightly but he would never tell her. There just wasn’t anything Will could critique. Michelle had beautiful long legs sculpted by years of yoga, gym, cycling and countless miles of running. Her butt didn’t have an ounce of fat on it – Will would have to really press into it to find any meat at all. Michelle didn’t have huge muscles or cast an imposing figure, but it was getting to the stage where she was so physically fit that Will couldn’t keep up with her in the bedroom and that began to eat away at his damaged ego. Worse still, Michelle was slightly taller than Will and had the perfect six-pack. Maybe Will had bigger ‘boobs’ but that was about it. She was the stereotypical face of what an Instagram fitness model looks like. Will’s friends would joke that one day Michelle would see the light and upgrade him for a better model.
That’s why Will tried his best to keep Michelle by his side for the most part. He was punching well above his weight by landing a girl like Michelle who could have easily chosen someone else.

It was that January when an unexpected twist would provide the opening Will needed. Seeing Will would usually provide the balance Michelle needed to unwind now and again, but after skipping dates with him for two weeks because of work things started to get rough. For the first time, Michelle’s work ethic had become her downfall. She pushed herself too hard in the office and in the gym. She fell asleep two days in a row at work and just like that had lost her job! This probably wasn’t a great time for Will to send Michelle a message...


Michelle’s iPhone:

Will: Have you seen the news??

Michelle: I’m not really in the mood right now because---

*Michelle looks at the TV

BREAKING: Quarantine restriction in place due to rising new health risk

Michelle would have some serious decisions to make with little time to decide...