Soon after their three-week honeymoon in Europe, Felix promptly laid down the law about “his” household. They were home only a few days when he stormed into the room and began berating his new bride, calling her a “pig” and a “slob.” “Let me tell you how I expect my house to be kept,” he yelled until he was red-faced, before firing off a list of things he wanted done. Susan was stunned at how her new husband was “so transformed and abrupt.” Horrified by how he was treating her, her first reaction was to leave. But as Susan went for the door, Felix stopped her, grabbing her roughly and throwing her to the floor. According to Susan, he raped her that day. As she sat on the floor trembling, she thought again about leaving him, but the harsh reality of her situation hit home: she could never try to leave again. With a single act, he had crushed her spirit, which had just begun to blossom. After years of wrestling with her father’s abandonment and mother’s criticism, now Susan had an entirely new trauma to contend with—her husband.
