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They had loved her for over a century yet she did not. He had loved her for so long, trying to save her, rescue her, but she did not need his saving.

"Did you ever love me?

I loved you always,"

Taking long, hesitant steps he approached her bed. Careful, he did not make a sound as he watched her sleep, afraid of waking her. He shouldn't care about her anymore, she has made it clear she never had cared about him, loved him. She has proven time and time again that she could careless whether he lived or died .

"I search the world

I f only for a goodbye..."

"You..." his voice betrayed him as the whisper was torn out of his throat, as tears chocked him and he closed his bright, blue eyes. Now the blue, usually a more stormy grey, was as deep as the ocean. She stirred, but did not awake.

"You eluded and deluded me

With your fake promises,"

"I should, I do, hate you." he said, his tone cold and acidic. He was surprised by it and also, by the truth behind his words. He did hate her, but he also never stopped loving her.

"It will always be-"

"Don't! Don't say his name!" He had begged her in his mind, not a month ago, yet she remained oblivious to his plea for she had said his name. That sentence had been haunting him ever since, for too long, too often, too true.

"But I forsake you now

I am free of you."

"I'm free of you Katherine!" he turned and left, swearing to never return to her. If she didn't want him there, she would get her wish in the end, he will not stay.

"Good luck, brother." he said and the wind took his words and carried them through thick canopy to where Stefan was. He ignored the ache the entered his soul, he had gotten his brother back after so long, nothing can go wrong now, right?

"Damon... I lied." the woman looked at the door closed softly with a click, the door where he had stood not seconds ago. "I did love you, don't you know I lie? Weren't you the one to tell me so?" she wondered in the quiet night. "I don't deserve you so you're free. Goodbye, my love." a tear fell from her eyes, the hazel that held a spark of sadness. One tear was all she had left in her body to mourn, for it was long dead on the inside.

"And I release you

I did love you, but

Too much can be worse than not enough."

"Damon?! Hey, you here?" Stefan entered the parlour, waiting to see his big brother with a glass of bourbon or blood in his hand in front of the fireplace, the usual smirk on his face. It had been a full day, from what he'd gathered with the attempt to undagger Elijah, yet something else must have happened since the last time he'd seen his brother, Damon had seemed off in a way Stefan could figure out. He wasn't searching through the Gilbert journals, nor was he sarcastic, he just was. It had scared Stefan, the blankness he's seen in Damon. He was worried, thinking his brother would leave, but he dismissed the thought then, Damon wouldn't leave Elena, not now.

"He's not here, Stefan." he heard Katherine, but refused to acknowledge the older vampire's words, or the tinge of woe underneath them.

"He's probably at the Grill." he answered, prepared to go to his room.

"He's not. His clothes and car are gone. He's left for good. He finally did as you asked." she tried to act nonchalant, unaffected, but the truth was there, she was sorrowful. "He's really gone..." she murmured broken. Stefan knew he wasn't supposed to her it, but he had and a frown marred his forehead, why did she care? The salty smell hit his nose as he saw her blur out of the room and found himself even more confused then before. Stefan took his phone out of his pocket and called his brother, he needed to know what was going on. It couldn't be true, what Katherine had said.

"Hello, brother." Stefan was taken aback, they were the same words he had spoken when they returned to Mystic Falls. That and his brother was upset, if his gruff voice was anything to go by. He is leaving, Stefan realized.

"Where are you? Katherine said you clothes and car are gone. What's going on?" he tried, as Katherine had before him, to act indifferent, but he didn't achieve this much control in his life. A few stray thoughts plagued his mind and tears gathered in his eyes, he refused to let them fall though.

"I just passed Atlanta. I'm heading for Washington D.C" he sounded clam now, like nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

"The witches..."

"No, Stef. I'm leaving for a while. I'll probably be back , but I don't know when. Elena's all yours brother." somehow the words didn't sound as good as he'd imagined.

"Why?"

"Katherine knew I'd died if I daggered Elijah, she had to make a choice, it wasn't me. As for Elena, I know she loves you, I'm not stupid, little brother. I'll try and uncover something about Klaus while I'm gone. Remember, if there's anything, call and I'll come to help. But I'm done with Elena, and more importantly Katherine."

"Alright, I understand. You remember to call once in a while, I might not be your biggest fan, but you're still my big brother, Damon."

"Sure thing! Gotta go now. Buh-bye!" and the line went dead. Stefan sat down, the emotional exhaustion catching up to him. There was one thing he couldn't get, still, from what Damon had said, it made no sense why he'd want to leave... Katherine! The idea stuck him. I must have been something else she'd said to him, otherwise Damon wouldn't have left. His brother was not one to run off like that.

"Katherine!" silence, not one sound throughout the house. "Katherine!" this time he heard the mattress shift under her weight as she got up. She blurred past him, annoyed by the look on her face.

"What?!" she snapped, not one clue of what she'd been like earlier present now.

"What happened between you and Damon? What did you say?" the expression she wore stated she knew exactly why his brother had left and she felt guilty about it.

" I said..." she trailed off, unsure. "That I knew he'd die and I didn't care." her voice was meek, guilty as Stefan has witnessed, yet he knew she was lying, as Damon had been. WHY? Too many unanswered whys today that a headache was creeping its way to him.

"I got staked today you know, and Damon got me a blood bag to heal then as I was drinking he staked me himself again. It had hurt, a lot. Anyway, later I tried to seduce him, yet that proved ineffective so I just went to sleep, although my ego was bruised. Then I heard the front door close and I saw that his clothes were gone before hearing his car. I knew he'd left." she wasn't lying now, but what she just said wasn't the reason Damon had left either. Stefan finally gave out, his brother would be fine nonetheless, so he needn't worry about her. It might actually be better for Damon to leave a while.

Katherine watched as Stefan nodded and went to do whatever he does. She was... sorry, although she had to hand it to Damon, he was finally letting her go or trying to do so. It was what she wanted for so long so how come it felt so horrible, so heart wrenching. His words replayed in her mind over and over "I'm free of you Katherine." until tears fell from her eyes and a smile stretched on her face at the same time as she mourned their love and cheered his freedom, if only she could do the same. He'd return, but not for her, not anymore. That conclusion made her heart break and her soul bleed nore than anything before and she remembered a song she'd once heard.

"Too much love will kill you

As can none at all,

Too much love will kill you

Everytime..."