Suzanne's situation got so much worse when Larry Patterson showed up. As described in the diary, the American man began to be a frequent visitor in her house, and it soon became clear that he wasn't only interested in doing business with Suzanne's father.
Mr. Patterson was forty-five years old. He was short, fat, partially bald, and had a round, flushed face, with tiny eyes and droopy lips. He just couldn't be less attractive to a teenage girl like Suzanne. To make things worse, he wasn't even a nice company. Her voice was too loud, and he only talked about himself, always bragging about his supposed deeds and his wealth. Not to mention, of course, the obscene way he looked at the girl.
Suzanne thought there was no way her father could accept that. He wouldn't believe the girl since he was angry with her, but when he realized on his own what was happening he would tell Mr. Patterson to get out of their house and never return again.
But what she didn't know was that her father was in serious financial trouble. Without Mr. Patterson's support, he was doomed to bankruptcy. Also, he saw in the American man an opportunity to kill birds with one stone. He needed money, and also needed to find a way to "save" his daughter and turn her into a "respectable woman". What better way to do that than marrying her with Mr. Patterson? The man was rich, powerful and influential. He was more than perfect.
Obviously, Suzanne didn't exactly appreciate the news. When her father said she would marry Mr. Patterson, she broke half of the stuff in the living room of their house. She begged him not to force her to do that, but her father said she was being childish and stupid.
"I know what's best for you, girl. You'll thank me in the future."
But Suzanne never did so. She got married a week after turning eighteen, and moved with her husband to the United States. After that, she never spoke to her father again.
The first months of her marriage life were very difficult. Suzanne was still feeling miserable, and Mr. Patterson hadn't changed a bit. Soon, she found out that he not only was a nasty person, but also a terrible lover. He never bothered to know if his wife was satisfied, and did his thing in just a few minutes – the last point wasn't so terrible, though, considering how much she felt sick around him.
He also liked to show his young wife to the high society as if she were a trophy. So, he made sure she had the best clothes, shoes and jewelry available. He wanted her to always look flawless. That was something about her new life that Suzanne enjoyed. She had always liked looking pretty, and her husband spared no expense when it came to her appearance – although she had discovered that he wasn't as rich as he used to brag about being.
But apart from that, her life was empty and meaningless. She asked her husband to go to college, but he said it was nonsense, and that he would take care of all her needs.
He also wanted her to give him a son, but she only got pregnant many years later, when she was twenty-nine. After all this time, Suzanne had adapted to her new reality, and was trying to make the best of that bad situation. What else could she do? She didn't have a profession, which meant she was totally dependent on Mr. Patterson.
However, her life has completely changed when her baby girl was born. She was then truly happy for the first time in a long...