Just before I boarded the plane i got a text message from her at 6.30AM. She said that she lost the phone at the venue and she couldn’t find it. I asked why she couldn’t use the other phone, but she said she run out of credit as it was a prepaid one. I was confused, so I called her on the video call and she accepted it, probably incidentally. For a brief moment I could see her in the car on the passenger seat, but she disconnected herself. I was astonished. What did she do in somebodies car at 6AM? where is she going. I had the impression, Giuseppe is back and she is in his claws. She said she is on the way to another event, as she gonna be a muse for a basket ball team tournament starting this morning. I never heard about that event before and her attendance. I knew that the following day, when I get back to Sin City she will have an event related to Body Painting which she is going to attend. But muse for basket ball, this early morning? Never heard about it.

I flown my first sector of the journey and landed in transit to change the plane. Had few hours for rethinking. We had a video call and she started to talk. Obviously she lost her phone as some other participants. It looked as somebody accessed the locker room and stole the phones. She also confirmed that she run out of the credit on the prepaid and recharged it just this morning. All fine, but what about the another early event and the car? As i told you earlier I can sense Cherie’s small changes and I was right this time again. Giuseppe came around, after two weeks of silence and well being, he approached again. She told me hi attended the pageant event last night and started to talk to her, as she put it, he started to poison her brain again. She said that she went home to her place that night and she slept alone, as he dropped her home, but somehow she was in his car at 6.30AM. She tried to say that he dropped her after event and now he pocked up her again. I didn’t believe that, after all I was not able to know if the car headed from her or his apartment.

She added that actually a day or two earlier, when she went to her gay friends party, Giuseppe was invited there secretly without her consent. The gay was obviously trying to get Cherie and Giuseppe into conversation that night and Giuseppe was behind that idea. It seems, it worked, as the eventually met and talked. She said that she was pissed off by his attendance, but somehow she got involved in the conversation and later Giuseppe showed up at the pageant contest and the second event. She said she is still committed, but I was not sure. She admitted that since I left, she was not staying a single night in my hotel. That added to my doubts. I was scared and disappointed. Not first neither last time. I wrote some notes on the plane that day and landed safely.

After landing, I went to the hotel. Her belongings were still there, so she didn’t left, but it felt empty. I took shower, changed clothes and with my friend Peter and his girlfriend we went for the body painting event nearby to face Giuseppe, as he supposed to be there as well. I knew him only from the pictures, but would be more than happy to meet him that night. To my disappointment, he never showed up, coward. I found Cherie around and she was different. Not the same person from the day I left Sin City five days ago. Only five days, and see how much happened. She was into the event and we couldn’t talk freely. I send her my texts from day zero and day seventeen and she had tears in her eyes while reading it. I even took a picture of her at that time. I met few of her friends and we had some brief chat. As time got late and the event was finishing, we went back to hotel and went sleep, together in one bee, but far apart.

Last two days we talked over what happened. Giuseppe knew her weak points. Her urge to get back her family, reunite with daughter and settle down. He knew she needed a job and he knew she needed financial stability. He played her well, promising all this in order to get her, to take her from me. He followed her footsteps, knowing she will be attracted to those events around. As soon he knew from his friends around, that I’m around he was hiding not willing to confront. He tried to be smart and he was smart and very persistent. She tried to get rid of the poison in her mind, but at this point she was unable. She thought she was, but she wasn’t. By that time I didn’t know anything about it.

She was convincing me about her commitment and send love messages and I believed her. We, once again started to rebuild the relation and started to get trust in each other. At that point I don’t know how much she told him about me, but obviously at some point later he knew lot about our life and he must have known this from her.

I must admit I had to be blind then. I didn’t see the small issues. Sure I sensed the small changes and I knew that that feeling wasn’t wrong. When I asked “what bothers you” she tried to give some logical answer. After all she started to get to know me as well, knowing the issues I was sensitive at and trying not to touch them. On the other hand, she realized that I didn’t have much interest in some of her events and she knew that i give her lot of free space and freedom. She was very good to snick around this, building my confidence and avoiding traps. My feelings were very mature and compared to Giuseppe’s earlier and later behavior she should have no doubts in making correct choices. But she made the errors on daily basis.

Some time later I get to know that Giuseppe was writing emails to her almost every day, poisoning her and giving her ultimatums and promising her family. She shared all of the emails far later, but back then in end of September, I didn’t know about it.
At that particular day she, send him back a long message explaining all the situation, feeling being manipulated and she end it with words: “I love you, but I love him more.”. A brave decision, that should last forever, but I definitely not a persistent one, as live shows.

Once again I was flying that day and was scheduled to came back around 11PM. We had good talk all the morning and afternoon. She went for lunch with Thelma and then she supposed to drive back home. She did not reach it. As the day twenty was approaching afternoon, I got a message “I had accident”. At the time she sent the message I was away from the phone for some time, so when I got back to it I saw the message. I called her and I saw her in the stretcher inside the ambulance with a collar around her neck. A tremendous picture, still etched in my brain. I called Peter, as he was living close to us, to get into the place and check what happened to Cherie. After some time he came back with information that she crashed back into another car while heavy braking on the highway. She smashed into the small truck in front of her causing damages to her self and her car only. The two other gentleman in the car in front were not injured nor was the car, as she hit the rear frame of the truck. Peter went to hospital and talked to her. She was fine, not injured, but with lot of pain and difficult to move. I asked Peter to pick me up from the airport.

We both had the feeling that Giuseppe will use this occasion to approach her and try to be nice once again? We were both right. He popped out of the blue and tried to talk to him. Some of the Cherie’s friend told him to walk away as they knew I will arrive and at that point Cherie was with me. They didn’t want to have arguing or fight in the hospital at that time. He listened and he left. Cherie admitted that she called him first directly after accident. She did not call me, nor Peter nor anybody else, but Giuseppe. Even when asked by police officer for a good man, who can confirm her identity and support her, she gave them Giuseppe’s name. Not sure it had to do with the shock post accident or the feelings and always thinking if him in first place.

The following day should be a big great day, as we finally were going to move from the hotel to new apartment. Unfortunately the accident would influence that, but sure her wellbeing was the priority, and any plans could be postponed.

I arrived to hospital shortly past 11PM. Found Cherie on the bed with collar on and the drip connected into her vain. She was tired and in pain, but otherwise fine. We had some brief talk about the accident and I tried to hold to her as much I could. She was afraid of the consequences and the legal issues, but a police officer, who visited, said as there were no injuries to another people, she would not be charged. As night passed, she was released from hospital around 3AM and we went back to hotel to spend there the last night.

The following day I grabbed all our belongings and we moved into apartment nearby. She was staying in bad and I took care of the groceries and a like. We nedee to yhe some bigger shopping, but at that time she was not able to het up from bed, so we postponed shopping until she would be fine.

Some time later I got to know that Giuseppe arrived there, mainly cause she was on the call with him just when the accident occurred. She got distracted while driving and talking ro Giuseppe. And that’s how the accident happened. With all the events from few days back at pageant contest she still was in back channels communication with Giuseppe. I was not aware of that at that point. Just few months later she shared all the emails which makes the story more complete and justified. With this tragic event today we moved into October. Another month of challenges.