Amber had always known her boy was different. From the moment he came screaming into the world, he was a Gemstone through and through, but he wasn’t cut from Jesse’s rough-edged cloth. No, this one had her shine. He was the first baby, the first grandbaby, the one who made Eli weep in that quiet, private way he thought no one noticed. Aimee Leigh had pressed her hands to his tiny head and declared him blessed, and Baby Billy had spoiled him rotten with cheap gifts wrapped up in grand speeches. That kind of attention didn’t fade, it followed him like a spotlight. Even when Gideon came along, the second child, the second grandson, nothing could take away the fact that this boy had been the first. He was always marked as special, and he carried himself like he knew it.

Amber saw herself every time she looked at him. The shape of his eyes, the arch of his smile, the way he carried his chin when he was told no. It was uncanny, unsettling even, the way he reflected her back more than Jesse. While Gideon looked like Jesse’s carbon copy, same square jaw, same dim glint in his eyes, this boy was all Amber. He had the same fire, the same edge, the same dangerous charm that could carry him further than he deserved if he wasn’t careful. Jesse tried to brush it off, to joke that at least one of his kids looked “pretty enough for television,” but Amber knew better. That resemblance was both a gift and a warning.

It started with pageants, little crowns, and glittering sashes. Amber had guided him into it herself, if she was honest, she wanted to relive her own trophies through him, the ones her mama never let her forget. He excelled instantly, the judges charmed by his practiced smile and polished presence. Then came cheer, then dance. He was never just dabbling; he was thriving, owning the stage the way a preacher owns a pulpit. By the time high school rolled around, he was the boy everyone knew. The one walking the halls with the practiced gait of someone born to be watched. Homecoming escort, prom king, every vote swung not just by his own charisma but by the Gemstone name. Money greased the wheels, but he made sure the engine purred.

Spoiled wasn’t a strong enough word for what he was. Eli never said no. Baby Billy never shut up about how he’d “carry the Gemstone legacy higher than them all.” Even Aimee Leigh, before she passed, had indulged his every whim with that gentle smile of hers, as if she saw something fragile under all that polish. And Amber…well, Amber couldn’t stop herself. She’d tell herself she was being firm, that she’d raise him right, but then he’d flash her that smirk that was so painfully hers and she caved every single time. Jesse grumbled, but Jesse didn’t have much of a leg to stand on, not when he spoiled Gideon in his own reckless way. The truth was, no one ever really told this boy no. And so he walked the world like it was already his, and in many ways, it was.

Still, Amber worried. Spoiled boys burned fast. She saw how easy it was for him to be adored, to be followed, to believe he was untouchable. Yet she also saw that flicker of something steadier, something deeper. He wasn’t Jesse, bumbling into bad choices without a thought. He thought, he calculated, he maneuvered. It wasn’t always good, but it was sharp. Too sharp for his own good sometimes.