"Because this love didn’t give me the happiness I thought it would," Nora said with a faint smile. "It’s like buying a snack at the supermarket, something you were really excited to try, only to find out it’s not to your taste. After that, you just don’t like it anymore and wouldn’t bother with it again."

Her metaphor was strikingly vivid.

"And what does the happiness you imagine look like?" Samuel asked, his tone calm but persistent, like an interviewer ...