Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries. Except for this.

She chose Stefan. It was always Stefan.

So Damon left.

The danger that plagued them for so long ended. The villagers were safe. She was safe. He was no longer needed. Why would he stay? To watch her and Stefan build a life in which the only part he would possess would be that of bystander?

Thanks but no thanks. He may be a masochist but even that didn't appeal to him.

So one night he dropped everything. The only goodbye he said was to Elena who was asleep so she didn't even hear it.

And he left. Without as much as a glance back.

But where would he go? The man had eternity and the ability to make anyone do anything. He could go anywhere.

He chose Europe.

It had been years so why not? There was nothing holding him back.

He traveled to London then Paris, back to Dublin and Glasgow. He visited the Vatican and laughed at the people who had no idea that evil walked amongst them on their hallowed ground.

He stood in the finest hotels, ate the most delectable food, bedded the most desirable women, and drank the sweetest blood.

The world was his oyster so to speak, and he relished it.

Despite the fun he had and the occasional chaos he caused, there was always that little pang in his heart. Every time he saw a girl with an enchanting smile or a bewitching look, he took her.

And he treated her the way he would have treated Elena.

He showered them with gifts and compelled the most celebrated fashion designers to create masterpieces for them to wear. He ravaged them and then…

He left.

In the middle of the night.

But he never said goodbye.

Because in the end, they weren't Elena, and they didn't deserve his goodbyes.

Off he would go to his next destination without so much as a glance back.

He never told anyone this, but he wrote to her. Not much. Just artsy postcards with phrases like thought of you today or bought you a necklace and then threw it in the Seine.

He never sent them. He just carried them around like a marble weight. No matter how far he was from her, there was always that link.

He couldn't completely let her go.

And he lied.

The first time…

He did look back.