Rich People Problems

xiii | brazilian nights

KIMBERLY

AS THE GREAT Dwight Schrute once said, "Nostalgia is truly one of the great human weaknesses... second only to the neck."

While I've never tested the second part, I can heavily vouch for the first.

Ever since Chantelle's call, I couldn't stop reminiscing on my old days of modeling. Modeling, by no means, should ever be described as easy or painless.

Years of experience was enough for me to know that being a successful model was like selling your sanity. Your body was always on display, critiqued by people who think they have some sort of control over you.

Mental health was the last thing ever taken into consideration. Food was always up for question. Competition was enough to turn close friends against each other. But, ultimately, I couldn't stop myself from loving it.

It was rough. As a new model, you don't get a say in what you do.

But once you got that control, the world was at your fingertips.

My parents never understood why I wanted to model. With the lives that we had and the shit that we went through, avoiding the public eye became an obsession for all of us.

They didn't know that, for me, it was all about control.

Control over my body... my pictures... my life.

That was the most liberating and powerful thing I could have.

Over time, you learn to appreciate the artistry.

The bustling of the crew members to set everything up, the chatter from the models and makeup artists, and the beautiful dawn sky paired with the gentle breeze was enough to wake me up from my two hour nap during the car ride here.

Chantelle was right about Divine being desperate to have me. The car that picked Jace and I up from the hotel was stocked with all of my favorite snacks and drinks. More importantly, they got my favorite photographer for this shoot.

"Yanis Dupont, are you ignoring me?" I walked up to the photographer I worked with numerous times, teasing him.

"Kimberly, my muse!" Yanis immediately turned around and started air kissing my cheeks. "When they told me you agreed to this shoot, I started melting from the combustion burning in my heart." The Frenchman had a flair for the theatrics, which is probably why we got along so well.

"It's a miracle you're still alive," I laughed, moving to the side to introduce Jace. "Yanis, this is my fiancé, Jace Kingston."

The word itself was a magnet for everyone else to surround us, curious about who Kim Astor decided to settle down with.

Being single, with the exception of my no-strings-attached flings, for most of my career had people obsessing over who I'd end up with. Hell, if anything, people thought I'd be single forever, which was so scandalous. But I couldn't care less.

"Nice to meet you," Jace offered, sticking out his hand.

Squealing, Yanis just replied with, "Your babies are going to be so beautiful! I will die if they don't model."

Like I said, drama queen.

"Kim Astor engaged and modeling again? It must be the end of the world," Thanvi Srinivasan teased. I've worked with her a few times before, and we have a really good relationship.

She's a few years younger than me, but I respected her as my equal. It takes guts to call out a beauty company for their colorism, but she did just that and opened many doors for dark-skinned women everywhere. Last I heard, she took up acting, furthering her influence.