Inspired by Adele's song "Hello"
Rick couldn't believe what he was looking at. The shimmery white card shook in his hands as he read the words again, "We are pleased to invite you to the union of Ezekiel and Michonne..."
The devastation of losing her began to weigh on him as he tried to process what it all meant. I've lost her. What have I done?
It had been almost two years since Rick made the decision to go to Jessie for comfort. A part of him knew it felt wrong and forced, but she had reminded him so much of Lori. He wasn't in his right mind when he decided to continue to pursue her and the same day he did, all hell broke loose. The herd got in, half the town was killed, and his son got shot. That should have been a sign for him then but he kept going down the reckless path he was on.
He drove a lot of his original group away, including Michonne. Though she was the last person to stay with him, she finally had enough and moved to the Kingdom along with Sasha and Daryl. Rick remembered the pained sadness on her face when she hugged his children goodbye. She had promised Judith she would visit every weekend, and had to tell Carl over and over that the only reason she was moving was because the Kingdom needed her help. Carl knew that wasn't entirely true and resented Rick because of it.
It hurt Rick when she left but it didn't hit him how much he missed her until she was gone. He knew he had made the biggest mistake of his life by letting her go, by hanging onto the past when his future was standing right in front of him.
Rick would often dream about how they used to be on the road, when it was just them, surviving together. But now it felt like she was a million miles away. He thought of about a thousand ways he could apologize to her; to tell her how sorry he was for everything that he had done. He made every effort to visit her in the Kingdom as often as he could, but it was clear Michonne didn't want to see him. She was always never home, or was on her way to an appointment, whatever excuse she could find to avoid him.
He was no longer a part of her life, and all Rick wanted to do was apologize; to tell her how sorry he was for breaking her heart and for taking her for granted. But holding her wedding invitation in his hand, he realized it didn't matter, it clearly didn't tear her apart anymore. She had moved on. She was happy without him.