The Walking Dead: 7 Ways Negan Psychologically Broke Rick
4. The Rescue
A great ruler should be feared but also respected, and even outright loved.
While Rick is nowhere close to loving Negan, he may have felt some gratitude when Negan came to his rescue twice, as the Sheriff tried to fight his way back into the caravan and deliver the axe he was ordered to retrieve.
Rick can hate him, fear him, and despise him, but at the end of the day, he's the one who has Rick's life in his hands, as well as everyone else's. And the perverse reality is that he's forced to accept that he will now be reliant on his new saviour and master.