"Thank you all for taking the time to witness this moment of profound sorrow," I said, bowing slightly to the assembled faces.
Then, quiet and deliberate, I spoke directly to Rory. "Growing up is just a series of farewells, Rory. Don't give up on yourself just because of this loss."
After all, in the days ahead, she would lose far more than this.
"Shut the fuck up, Cyrus! What exactly are you trying to do?" Rory shouted again, her control slipping completely in front of everyone.
"I proposed a divorce, and you refused," I said calmly, letting my words hang in the air. "I tried to live peacefully with you, but you wouldn't. Do you really want to destroy this family?"
From the moment she arrived until now, she hadn't realized what day it was.
She hadn't remembered the words I had just spoken, the same words she had once said to me: "Cyrus, don't take advantage of Rory's patience. No matter what you do, she'll divorce you!"
"And I," Jesse had said earnestly to Rory, "no matter what Rory becomes, I will stay by her side, unwavering until death."
Touched, Rory's eyes softened, and she gazed at him with gentle affection.
I chuckled, signaling ever so subtly.