Starting Over: rewrite

Last Words and First Holiday Alone

Hello everyone, I hope you all enjoy this fun update. Can't wait for you all to read this chapter.

Ella's POV

"Ms. Bas..."

"No one else will sit in this row." I order.

"But miss,  Mrs. Bass and..."

"They are no longer family and will be placed behind us." I instruct.

"Do as she says." Chuck backs me up. The guy nods his head, and he sections off the front pew just for Chuck and me as people continue to talk about us. I hear the chatter throughout the room; knowing everything they are saying, I know the doubts, the judgment, and everything in between. None of them are here for us. None of them are here to support Chuck and me. It's just like it's always been before The Bass Children against the world.

"Ella..." I don't turn and look at Lily as I know she's trying to talk her way out of this mess. "Ella, please..."

"You were planning to leave our father." I fire back at her, and she stops. "You can't even deny it. You were worth everything to him, but he meant nothing to you."

"Ella, that is not true. I loved your father and..."

"Until you ran back into the arms of your ex."

"Speak to my sister again, and I will have you thrown out." Chuck threatens Lily, and she sits back.

"Thank you. Bartholemew Bass was a powerhouse in every sense of the word. He had the respect of those who knew him and put fear into those who didn't know. He was a doting father, husband, friend, and his presence in this world will be missed." The sermon goes on and on about how wonderful Bart was. It comes time for people to pay their respects and share a few words that are all lies. None of them are how they really feel. Bart didn't have friends. No one truly liked him, but all of these people are here to kiss his dead ass, and they don't have a care in the world. "Would anyone else like to share any last words?" No one moves, but I hear gasps as I feel myself stand up and walk towards the podium. "Eloise Bass, Bart's daughter." The man introduces me to the crowd. I stand there not saying for a while, and then I look up, and I see Lily looking back at me, and all I feel is rage.

"My father was a complicated man. He loved his business more than anything. Even more than his own children. He's never had a true friend in his life that wasn't indebted to him or needed something from him." I look around at everyone. Chuck nods his head at me, urging me to continue. "So I find it strange that so many of you came here in your finest clothes, wiping away fake tears and lying your asses off about a man you didn't give a damn about." I hear gasps throughout the crowd s I say these words. "None of you care about Bart because none of you knew who he was. He was a man who traveled the world to make as much money as he could, and he succeeded in that mission, but he missed valuable parts of his children's lives. So before you call him a good father, you should know what kind of man he was. He valued the women in his life over his children. We were things in his way, and despite his lack of paternal instincts, he still loved us. He loved my brother and me despite the mistakes we've made. And we've made plenty. He was a hard man to get to know and even harder to love, but..." I smile just thinking about him. "He was my father, and I will miss him more than words can say. But I can say this." I look straight at Lily. "As the daughter of Bart Bass, I know the importance of nothing in life being guaranteed. He didn't come from a privileged life like most of you freeloaders have, and because of that, he's instilled a work ethic in his children that should scare the world. Because when a Bass knows what they want, they never let it go. And I, for one, can't wait for karma to bite you all in your fake asses." I smile at all of the horrified faces. Chuck stands up and claps for me with a proud smile on his face.