I really needed to figure out a way to get her to just accept eating. I needed to resume that session in front of the mirror with her.

"You know that I just need you to be happy. Right?" I asked her.

She nodded, thinking she was about to win and escape eating.

"Well, would you be happy if they took you away from me and kept you in a hospital and forced you to eat yucky food?" I asked her.

She shook her head and hugged me tightly, not liking the scenario I'd introduced. I rubbed her back gently, hoping to calm her down.

"We have to eat then. Come on. I know you don't like it, and it's stressful, but food tastes good, right?" I asked her.

"No. Not all of it." She argued.

"That's true. But if you don't like how it tastes, tell me and I'll give you something more tasty." I said softly.

"But even if it tastes good, it's still hard to eat." She said to me.

"Why? What makes it hard, baby?" I asked her.

"I'm fat and I shouldn't eat so much. I don't deserve it anyway." She said with her head resting against my chest.

"You deserve all the tasty foods and to eat whenever you want without worrying about being fat because you're so far from it." I sighed.

"B-but they-" She started before I interrupted her.

"Forget them. No one matters except you right now, alright?" I said.

She looked into my eyes and sighed before nodding her head.

"Ok. But I just want milk." She whispered.

"Only milk?" I asked her, thinking milk was quite heavy for her poor stomach.

"Yes. It doesn't hurt my belly as much as the other food." She told me.

"The other food was hurting your belly?" I asked in shock, wondering why I'd never heard of this.

"Yeah. I like the fruits though. I don't like bananas much but the oranges and the strawberries and kiwis are nice." She said to me.

"Are the bananas a little heavy?" I asked her, still wondering about the milk as well.

She nodded her head.

"Alright. Let's go get some food that won't hurt this little belly." I said, kissing her cute little nose.

"I wanna see the bunnies again." She whispered as I carried her to the kitchen in the mansion.

"Did you like the bunnies that much, Kiwi?" I asked her. Thoughts of her stuffed animal and then the conversation with her doctor began flooding my mind.

"Yes. They're the cutest." She giggled.

"Not as cute as you." I laughed as I set her down on the counter.

"C-can I have milk that's not heavy?" She asked me.

"What does that mean?" I asked her.

"The one you gave me the first day." She said and I looked through the fridge and found almond milk.

"This milk?" I asked her.

"I don't know." She said in confusion.

I poured some into a glass and handed it to her. She took a sip and smiled. I knew it was the milk she wanted when her feet started swinging in front of her.

She was still completely against eating and consuming anything. But despite her struggle she consumed the food I gave her. I had to figure out how to incorporate more carbs and proteins and fats into this diet of hers though. The last thing I wanted was to upset her stomach, but she needed all the nutrients she could get.

"Kiwi for my kiwi?" I chuckled, handing her a kiwi because she insisted on holding one as she ate the fruit.

She giggled and took it into her hands. She was very fascinated by the golden coloured skin on the outside, wanting to pet the fruit as I urged her to consume it.

"It's funny." She laughed as she ate the last slice of kiwi.

I chuckled and planted a kiss on her head as I threw away the peels.

"Strawberries?" I offered. She looked like she wanted to escape food now, but she had only had a kiwi and half her cup of milk.

She shook her head and tried hopping off the counter, but I stopped her.

"Don't even think about it. We're gonna eat at least ten strawberries, half an orange and the rest of the milk." I insisted.

"No." She said, looking at me with a little hesitance in her gaze. She just wanted to test me.

"Fine. Then we can stay here and wait until you eat before we move anywhere." I said to her.

One of her perfect blonde eyebrows rose up in doubt that I'd actually follow through. She nodded her head, insisting that she wasn't eating anymore.

It took an hour of me standing in front of her waiting for her to eat before anything changed. But she didn't start eating, she started pouting, making my heart melt and making me want to tell her she didn't have to eat anymore.

"Eat." I demanded but she shook her head, her eyes filling with tears.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead in distress.

"Maybe this is when we should cuddle, eh?" I suggested.

She nodded her head and I picked her up, setting her down on the floor. I grabbed the plate of fruit she had to eat and the glass of milk that she had yet to finish. I sat down on the floor and placed the food and glass beside me. She got down into my lap and I let her cuddle me however she pleased.

"Alright. Eat." I told her.

She frowned up at me, clearly unimpressed. When the first tear fell, I knew that there was a possibility I'd lose this fight. I just needed her to eat a little bit more.

"Kiara. You're not a baby." I said.

She started sobbing hysterically and I almost gave in but then her small hand drifted over the plate to grab some fruit. Just as I began to believe I'd won, she pulled her hand away and she wiped away her tears as she cried.

"Come on, Kiara." I sighed.

"Not Kiara." She cried.

I frowned. What was she trying to say?

"Not Kiara?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"You don't want me to call you Kiara?" I asked in confusion.

She nodded in confirmation.

"Alright. I won't. But what should I call you? Kiara is your name, baby." I said, stroking her hair.

She shook her head.

"You're mad at me." She said, pouting at me.

"I'm not mad at you, baby. Why would I be mad?" I asked her.

"You called me Kiara." She sobbed.

"Your name is Kiara." I sighed.

"K-kiwi." She pouted at me.

"Oh, my little Kiwi!" I said, pulling her head to my chest.

"You're always my Kiwi. There's no need to worry. Even if I call you Kiara, it doesn't mean I'm mad or that you're not my kiwi." I said, planting a kiss on her head.

She nodded, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the tears.

"I need you to eat. Please!" I begged her.

She shook her head, her sobbing making it hard for her to breath. I put my thumb to her lips and let her suck on my thumb. I really didn't mind it. It was uncomfortable but she needed it so I was happy to oblige.

"Come back to me, Kiwi." I said, hoping to pull her out of the minor panic attach she was having.

She slowly calmed down as she pacified herself with my thumb.

"That's my girl. Breathe." I whispered and she quickly calmed down. Then her cute little hands let go of mine and set my thumb free from her mouth. She looked down at the plate of food and she sighed deeply.

"Ok, one strawberry then we can discuss." I said to her.

She nodded.

I handed her the strawberry and she's examined it before stuffing the whole thing in her mouth at once. She ate like a starved child.

"Alright. Let's discuss. I want you to finish the plate." I insisted.

"No...!" She protested weakly.

"Give me a reason why not." I said to her, handing her a strawberry while she was distracted and watching her eat it.

"I don't want to." She said, hugging me while she cried.

"Come on, Kiwi. You love fruits. You're not fooling me. Just eat this one plate." I requested gently.

She seemed to just need to cry for a moment, so I held her as she did, then she sat up, looking at me with the most heartbreaking sad face and requesting that I stop trying to get her to eat.

"I will never stop trying to get you to eat and be healthy." I told her.

"I don't want to eat." She whined as tears continued to stream down her beautiful cheeks. Maybe rules wouldn't be a bad idea. But she would have a meltdown if I mentioned it.

"Ok, we can take a little break from eating if you'll just calm down." I said softly.

She believed she'd won now. She looked up at me with a soft little smile and slowly stopped crying.

"There you go. We're all calmed down." I smiled, kissing her forehead.

She started trying to get up and that's when I pulled her back into my lap and held her tightly.

"What's going on? Do you need the bathroom?" I asked her.

"N-no." She mumbled.

"Well then stay here. We're not moving until you eat." I insisted.

"I don't want to eat!" She cried, as if I would understand if she kept repeating it and stop asking her to.

"I understand, Kiwi. I get it. I know this sucks, but we're eating whether you like it or not. You need to be healthy." I said to her.

"I d-do-on't wa-anna." She sobbed.

"Will it help if I eat with you?" I asked her.

She continued to whine as she thought about my offer and then she nodded.

"Alright, strawberry for me, and strawberry for my little kiwi." I said softly, and I grabbed a strawberry from the plastic container and gave her one from her plate.

She finally ate another strawberry and slowly we got through all the strawberries until they were gone from her plate.

"Now the milk, baby." I urged her on, handing her the glass of milk.

"Where's yours?" She asked me.

"Should I get one too?" I asked her.

She nodded and I stood up, placing her on the counter again and pouring myself a glass of almond milk. I took a big sip and waited for her to take one as well. I watched as she took the tiniest sips. Eventually, she finished the glass and I pointed to the orange slices.

I grabbed the other half of the orange and sliced it up for myself.

"Ok. Come on. Last bit of food." I said softly.

"I feel sick." She tried, but anyone could see she was lying from a mile away.

"That's ok. Your body will get more used to it." I assured her, handing her the first slice of orange.

I ate one and waited for her to eat it. The orange was much harder to get through, but eventually, we got through it, and I was so proud of both myself and her.

"Look at you! My beautiful kiwi ate all her food! Do you know how proud I am?!" I said happily.

I picked her up and spun her around in a circle, making her giggle softly.

"Let's go see the animals." I told her. "You did so well, time for a reward."

Maybe rewards were a better way of getting her to eat. That way it wasn't something she didn't like, it was something she was missing out on if she didn't just eat like I told her to. I still felt weird about thinking this way about her. She wasn't a baby. She was just struggling.

She nodded her head at the prospect of seeing animals and she jumped up and down in excitement.

"Come on. Go get dressed." I told her and she ran to our room.

Meanwhile, I called my Uncle Rico and Aunt Sophie to ask them if we could have a chat. I needed advice. I didn't want to keep thinking about the conversation with the psychiatrist and leave it unresolved. I also didn't want to tell Kiara and scare her.

When I got up there, I saw her looking at herself in the mirror with a green sundress on. She didn't seem pleased by what she was seeing, but she looked so pretty.

"There she is, my gorgeous little kiwi." I smiled, walking over and kissing her head.

"It's a pretty dress." She mumbled.

"On a pretty girl." I added.

She looked up at me and chose not to comment.

"Alright, Baby. Let's go see some bunnies." I told her.

"I wanna take Bunny with us." She told me.

I grabbed her stuffed bunny and handed him to her, taking her hand and leading her to my car.

"Can I feed the puppies?" She asked me.

"No, Kiwi. Not yet, but maybe one day." I said to her.

She nodded and she smiled at the surroundings of the car as we passed them. I loved seeing her at ease and happy.

"After we see the animals, can we go home and bake a cake?" She asked me.

Home?

I hadn't expected her to adapt to all of this so quickly.

"If you promise to eat three bites of cake, yes." I said.

She frowned but nodded nonetheless.

I hated seeing that little frown. She was just so delicate and deserved to always be smiling, but she was upset now because of food.

"I'm sorry. We'll discuss the cake later, let's just see the bunnies now. I'm sure they missed you." I told her.

She smiled and she reluctantly reached out for my hand. I gave her my free hand and kept it in mine even as I switched gears.

We eventually arrived at the enclosure and my cousins were both there, feeding the cougars.

"What's going on?" I asked them.

"I think Blaze is sick." Evan said softly.

"Did you have the vet check him?" I asked.

"Not yet." Theo sighed.

"Alright. Hopefully it's nothing. There's no need to worry so much." I said, seeing how upset they both were.

Evan and Theo smiled, suddenly in a teasing mood.

"What's going on with you?" Both my cousins asked me.

"Nothing." I said, frowning and looking away in embarrassment.

I had changed, and it was because of my Kiwi. She had turned me into a more sensitive, supportive person. Now I was over there comforting my cousins. Never in my life had I been so conscious of their feelings and tried to comfort them. Usually it was tough love coming from me, but now I was more gentle, I guess.