Achieving the Perfect Life I Wished For

The smell of antiseptic still faintly clung to her, a phantom scent from a life she’d left behind. Alice blinked, her eyes adjusting to the dim, flickering candlelight that cast dancing shadows across unfamiliar stone walls. This wasn’t the sterile white hospital room where she’d drawn her last breath; this was ancient, almost primal.

She tried to move, but her limbs felt impossibly small, weak. A soft, gurgling sound escaped her lips instead of the scream she intended. Panic, cold and sharp, pierced through the haze of confusion. Her hands, when she finally managed to lift them, were tiny, rosy, and undeniably a baby's.

Then, a gentle, melodic voice filled the air, pulling her gaze towards a figure that seemed to step out of a painting. A woman, ethereal and kind, smiled down at her. "My sweet child... I'm so glad you were born."

This was it, then. The second chance she’d wished for. But as her new mother’s arms enveloped her, a strange, glowing box flickered into existence, hovering silently in the air above her. Its words were stark, unsettling, and absolute:

"You must fulfill the conditions: Make 3 men fall for you and reach 100% affection to proceed to the next stage. Deadline: 18 years."

Alice, a tiny baby with the mind of an 18-year-old, could only stare. Her perfect new life had just begun, but it already came with a chilling, bizarre price.