Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be.

Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina (1878), Part 7, Chapter 24, trans. Constance Garnett Verified source · How we source quotes
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Anna Karenina has this thought in Part 7 of the novel, as her quarrels with Vronsky grow more bitter. She has come to believe that he no longer loves her and only treats her with respect. In her mind the respect he shows her is simply a cover for the love that has gone, which makes it harder to bear.

Source: Anna Karenina (1878), Part 7, Chapter 24, trans. Constance Garnett

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