“Sarah, has your husband ever pressured you into physical intimacy when you did not want it?”
My hands began to tremble.
“Yes.”
“Do you feel safe saying no to him?”
I stared at the floor.
For eighteen years, I had thought marriage meant I was supposed to endure things that frightened or hurt me.
“I don’t know,” I whispered.
Dr. Wilson moved her chair closer.
“You have the right to make decisions about your own body, Sarah. Being married does not remove that right.”
Those words broke something open inside me.
I began to cry.
I told her about the nights I had said no and Michael had become angry. I told her how he accused me of not loving him whenever I resisted. I explained how I eventually stopped arguing because I was afraid of the consequences.
She listened patiently.
Then she asked the question that changed the direction of our appointment.
