My father tells everyone I abandoned him when I stopped paying his debts

Dear Delyara, My father has borrowed money his entire life. Credit cards, friends, relatives, payday loans, people from the community. For years, I paid whenever a crisis became urgent because I was afraid someone would humiliate him or take legal action. Last year, a counselor helped me understand that rescuing him was destroying my own finances. I told Dad I would no longer pay his personal debts. Since then, he tells relatives I have become selfish after “getting successful.” At a family gathering, an aunt said she hoped my own children never treated me the way I treat him. Dad sat beside her and said nothing. I left early. He called the next day asking for £800 because someone was threatening court action. I said no. He cried and reminded me how many nights he worked when I was a child. I know he sacrificed for us. I also know there will never be a final debt. Love has become a bill presented each time I try to protect my own life.