There was a pause.
"Love…?" Samantha repeated, as if tasting the word. Then she let out a small, almost embarrassed laugh. "I don't know. Maybe not. But… he mattered."
Catherine didn't press further.
Some memories didn't need dissecting.
They simply stayed.
Catherine wasn't convinced.
"Then why did you break up?" she asked, her tone quieter now, more probing than before.
Samantha hesitated, and for the first time since the call began, there was a small crack in her usual easy rhythm. "We were finishing university… and we decided to go our own ways," she said, almost too casually.
Catherine exhaled slowly.
That wasn't an answer. Not really. It sounded like something said to close a door without admitting what was left behind on the other side.
