Archie's voice pulled Avery back to the present. "So, does it ring a bell? A Corp, for Archibald's... A² Corp, for...?"
Avery's jaw dropped.
The breath left her lungs in a rush.
A².
Not just A anymore.
Archibald and—
Her lips parted, but no sound came out, the realization hitting her like a physical blow.
Archie continued to watch her, his expression unreadable. The silence between them stretched, thick with the weight of what she was only now beginning to understand.
Avery's voice was barely a whisper when she finally spoke.
"...the second A stands for... Avery?"
He didn't reply.
He didn't need to.
The truth was written in the way his eyes darkened, in the tension that coiled through his body as he waited for her to put the rest together.