I could have told him from the beginning that this obsession of his over the coffee was bound to end in a blind alley, but I restrained my tongue. 
I told him from the start not to obsess over the coffee
mnli hypothesis: I told him from the start not to obsess over the coffee premise: I could have told him from the beginning that this obsession of his over the coffee was bound to end in a blind alley, but I restrained my tongue. 